Lion Heart
by Bearit
Summary: Hikaru loves her brothers. It's impossible to suggest otherwise. But that love didn't just come with her birth; here is what her brothers have done to earn her profound adoration, beginning from her young, tender age of five until adulthood.
1. Fatherless

_**Lion Heart: Chapter One: Fatherless**_

**Author's Notes**: I simply _adore_ Hikaru's older brothers, and I wish I could have brothers just like them. This is a story centering around Satoru, Masaru, Kakeru, and Hikaru and the possible relationship they might have. Also, I believe that Masaru and Kakeru have deeper characters than what Clamp let us see (you know, not just "insane, overprotective brothers of Hikaru"). This story begins when everybody is really young. Based on the manga.

* * *

"Father!"

Fourteen year old Satoru Shidou gasped at the sight inside of his parents' bedroom. Drawers were out of place and clothes were dripping from the rice paper closets and antique oak dressers. In the middle of the tatami floor were several suitcases with neatly folded clothing inside of them. The Shidou father was wandering from dresser to closet to suitcase with the clothes.

"Father, what are you doing?"

Not looking up from his packing, his father replied, "I'm getting ready to go on a trip, Satoru-san. I can't promise you when I'll be back, but..."

Satoru waited for his father to complete the thought, but after a couple of seconds, he realized that he wasn't going to. "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know," his father admitted, closing one of the suitcases. He hurried off to the closet and shut the sliding door gently, before digging through the dressers.

"But at your job, you are your own boss," Satoru frowned. "If it's not work business, then why are you leaving? Who's going to take care of the dojo?"

His father threw the rest of the clothes inside of the dressers, which, Satoru noted, were only his mother's, and shut the drawers closed. For a while, nobody spoke while his father folded the rest of the clothes and fastened the suitcases, gathering the bags together with a wooden kendo sword and kendo gear just nearby the clutter. Finally, his father approached Satoru and gently rested his hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes with kindness and...

...shame?

"Since you are my oldest son, I want you to take care of the Shidou Kendo School while I'm away," his father said. "Like I said, I don't know when I'll be back, but I want you to take care of the dojo and the family for me."

"As you wish, Father," Satoru agreed. His father brushed past him towards the kitchen, obviously to tell the Shidou mother what was going on. "But, Father! Why are you leaving?"

His father halted his tracks for just a moment and swiveled his head around to look at Satoru. "Hikaru-cha-" he began, but stopped himself. "No, Hikaru-san... defeated me this morning. I was trying to go easy on her today, but she wasn't going easy on me--I or you must have taught her well to never hold back--so I tried my best... but she defeated me. I'd wish for this to stay inside the family, but Hikaru-san is only a child. This obviously... pleased her."

Satoru knew better than to press his father further, so he kept quiet as he walked towards the kitchen where his mother was cooking lunch. He turned and sulked to his room, taking in everything his father had just said.

His little sister, Hikaru, had defeated his father in kendo this morning? His sister? Five year old Hikaru Shidou had won a kendo match against her own father.

Satoru was, to say the least, shocked.

His father would never have let anybody beat him; his motto was that you can never teach someone if you just allow him to reach his goals. Just because he was confronting his daughter, who was only in kindergarten, did not mean that he would change that perspective.

_Hikaru must have been more aggressive today_, Satoru concluded. _She doesn't like to hurt anybody intentionally. But if Father said that he tried his best--impossible! How can a five year old defeat a full grown man?_

It wasn't until Masaru came running through the hall that Satoru actually believed it.

"Wow wow wow! You should've seen it, Satoru! That was a great match earlier this morning! Were you too busy sleeping, or did Mother have too many chores for you? I couldn't find you all day! Kakeru-kun doesn't believe me, but Hikaru-chan actually beat Father today! Isn't that great?" Masaru bounced, grabbing onto his elder brother's shoulders but stopped after he noticed Satoru's downhearted eyes. "You don't believe me, either, do you? You can even ask Hikaru-chan, but I wouldn't ask Father if I were you..."

Satoru closed his eyes and sighed. "Masaru, Father is... leaving."

"Eh? Why?"

"For the reason you just said."

Masaru was speechless as he stuttered to say something. "Wh- wh- I -_what_?! But- but-" he stopped himself and took a deep breath. "What should we tell Hikaru-chan? You know she's going to blame herself!"

"We have to tell her the truth," said Satoru.

"Kakeru-kun too?"

"Kakeru too."

Masaru frowned uncomfortably. Satoru didn't blamed him; Hikaru was going to blame herself, no doubt about it. Children, no matter what the age, tend to put themselves at fault if they were involved with something that had someone getting hurt. Kakeru had a close relationship with his father, and at the age of seven he was going to throw himself at his father's feet, begging him not to go. It would cause more of a distraction to their father, but maybe it would somehow encourage him not to leave. Either that, or it would encourage him to come home sooner.

"Should we tell them now?" Masaru asked weakly, almost in a whisper.

Satoru glanced over his shoulder at the kitchen, the running tap water and fan draining out any noises that his father and mother could be making, and sighed. "We should wait to see what Father wants to do."

* * *

The young Hikaru Shidou was ecstatic. After all, it wasn't everyday that somebody beat her father at something he spent his entire life practicing! Plus, Masaru promised to treat her to something special because of it, but he said that it was a secret.

Hikaru had a feeling that Masaru did not know what he was going to do, but Hikaru hoped that it was going to be ice cream!

She giggled at the thought of going to an ice cream parlor with Masaru. The last time they went with each other was before her fourth birthday, and Masaru didn't have enough money to get himself ice cream. He was pleading with Hikaru to share some, but she didn't until he almost began to cry. It was very funny.

She loved it when Masaru had that teary-eyed look. He was almost too cute looking like that.

Hikaru hummed to herself as she rested on her belly, flipping through some of her picture books. She could read the words if she wanted to, but they were in very tiny print; she knew that words that small were boring words; she learned that from her father's newspaper. Newspapers always had small writing, and they were always boring.

Besides, looking at all the puppies and dogs in the book was enough, even if she was looking at them for the ten thousandth time.

_Maybe Masaru-oniisama wants to get me a puppy!_ she dreamed, knowing that it wasn't true. Her father always sneezed wildly around animals, so she never even had a hamster before. _No, I guess not. But I wouldn't mind a stuffed animal puppy!_

She rolled over to her back to stare at the ceiling and sighed. _Why didn't Father come to see me since this morning yet? Is he mad at me?_

"Hikaru-chan!" Kakeru sang as he poked his head into her room. "What're you doin'?"

Hikaru sat up and smiled at her older brother. "Nothin'! What were _you_ doin'?"

"Nothin'," he repeated and stepped inside and took a seat in front of her. "Hey, Hikaru-chan! Do you want to come n' fight with me in the dojo? It'd just be for fun!"

Hikaru frowned and looked at the floor. "I can't," she mumbled. "I think Father is already mad at me."

"Why? You never get into trouble with him!"

"I beat him in kendo today."

Both of the children fell silent at those words. Hikaru thought she knew what was going to happen next: Kakeru was going to laugh at her. He loved their father so much that he would never believe her. He was just going to say it was in her imagination.

But he didn't.

"Masaru was telling the truth?" Kakeru murmured. "No way! Really? Hikaru-chan, why are you sad? You beat Father! You should be happy!"

"You're... proud of me, Kakeru-oniisama?" Hikaru stared at Kakeru with wide eyes. Kakeru nodded. This was not like him; he always got mad whenever somebody beat their father! "Really?"

"Of course! Even I can't beat him, even if I tried! And I do try! I try really hard!" Kakeru said, jumping to his feet. "Wow, Hikaru-chan! We should tell Satoru! I don't think he's going to believe Masaru either!"

"Yeah!" Hikaru agreed, scrambling up. "Masaru said he was going to give me a present!"

Kakeru's grin grew wider. "Then we really need to tell Satoru! I don't think Masaru has any money at all. Hey, I'll give ya a piece of candy with my own money, too, okay? We'll play in the dojo later!"

Hikaru couldn't help but to feel happy again. Her father may be angry at her, but her brothers were proud of her. That was all that really mattered.

* * *

Satoru smiled at his two youngest siblings as they bounced up and down with joy. However, on the inside, he winced terribly. What was he going to say -- what was he _supposed_ to say when he told them that their father was leaving because of what they were happy about? He didn't want to spoil their good mood, so what was he supposed to tell them?

"AH! Kakeru-kun! So you would sooner believe Hikaru-chan than me?" Masaru yelled directly in Kakeru's face. "I see a lack of trust in your older brother here!"

Kakeru smiled mischievously. "Hikaru-chan never lies. You do. You lie to me a lot. Why should I believe you ever?"

"Why you-! That's not fair!"

"Fair to me!"

Satoru sighed in relief as Hikaru giggled at the argument between the two younger brothers. Though Masaru was in almost the same dilemma as Satoru was (he didn't have to worry about breaking the news to Kakeru and Hikaru since he was younger), he was doing a pretty good job at hiding it. It was that or Masaru was annoyed at Kakeru's doubts at him to forget about the situation they were in.

Luckily, while Masaru and Kakeru argued, the older one did not slip out the fact that their father was leaving.

Satoru's eyes caught a shadow in the doorway, and he turned his head to his side to see who it was. Lo and behold, it was indeed his own father with the most heartbreaking eyes he had ever seen from anybody.

But his father was not looking at Satoru. The eldest son followed the direction of his gaze to see the three youngest siblings teasing and playing with each other happily. Satoru knew exactly what his father was thinking then.

_Hikaru is not going to hate you if you leave, just as long as you come back_, said Satoru mentally, hoping that by some miracle his father will hear. _But Kakeru is still proud of you, no matter if you were beaten by Hikaru or not! Please try to understand--they still need you._

As Satoru directed his eyes back to his father, the elder closed his eyes and shook his head. Satoru sighed once again in defeat. _He thinks he has to go. He think he's not good enough to be in this household for another day--that's not true, Father! Hikaru and Kakeru... and Masaru and I want you to stay!_

As the Shidou father walked away from the room quietly, Satoru stood up. _I'm sorry, Father, but you are making a big mistake!_

"Alright, then! Let's go to the ice cream place and later: the arcade!" Masaru exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. Satoru saw a familiar gleam in his eye that was aimed at him: a call for extra change. 'Just in case.' Satoru pulled out a wallet from his pocket and took out one thousand yen.

Giving it to Masaru, Satoru said sternly. "Make sure you spend this only on the ice cream. Use your own money for the arcade, understand?"

The brothers and sister nodded eagerly and ran out the door, almost tripping over each other's feet as they did so. Satoru's smile was swept away as he stared out the direction that his father had went.

_A very big mistake..._

* * *

Kinoko Shidou was upset. Not the blue shade of sadness, but the red shade that screamed she regretted the day she met her husband.

How dare he do this to her and their children? How _dare_ he! He claimed that he was unworthy to take care of the dojo now that he was defeated by his own student--his own daughter. He could not return home until he was strong enough to provide a challenge for Hikaru again.

Kinoko didn't understand the male pride, but she did know the male stupidity, and this was a fine example of it! She never wanted her daughter--her _only_ daughter--to be caught up in kendo. It was bad enough all three of her sons were! And now, while his youngest son was seven and his youngest child was five--five!--he was leaving them all because of a single match, which shouldn't mean anything at all! It didn't!

_Men are too power hungry!_ Kinoko scowled inwardly as she handed money to her daughter to run an errand for her. _I never thought that my own husband would be one of those types who'd go this far to get that power!_

As Hikaru ran off to the grocery store, Kinoko turned angrily towards her husband. His face did not waver. "Don't you already have enough fish for tonight?"

"You should have left when the kids were getting ice cream," she stated flatly. "It would be easier for them if you had left when they weren't around."

Her husband nodded knowingly. "Satoru-san and Masaru-san already know."

"Kakeru-kun and Hikaru-chan don't, and they look up to you more than your oldest sons do!" Kinoko raised her voice slightly. "Maybe I should send Kakeru-kun with Hikaru-chan with that errand so he doesn't have to watch you leave."

"You don't have to bother," he replied, walking out the door. "He's taking a bath right now. I'll be on my way."

"Don't bother coming back," she muttered under her breath. When the door to the kitchen closed, Kinoko sighed and slumped against the wall. "I hate you."

_Even so, _she realized as a wet substance formed in her eyes, _why does my chest ache so much?_

* * *

_This is it_, Masaru thought, watching his father dump the suitcases in the back of the taxi. _This is really it. I can't believe this is happening!_

Masaru always had considered the family to be a happy one. Although he was the middle child--Satoru being the oldest son, Kakeru being the youngest son, and Hikaru being the only daughter--he loved his parents and always received equal attention from them. He could have sworn that he was part of the most perfect family in Japan--no, the world!

"When are you going to come back?" Masaru asked, helping his father with some of the suitcases. He didn't want him to leave, but he knew better than to just stand and watch his father load the bags into the taxi.

"I don't know."

"Is that why you packed everything you owned?"

Satoru came out of the house and stood by the gate. "You're going to leave without telling Kakeru or Hikaru why you're leaving?"

Their father stopped for a minute and asked the taxi driver to hold on. The driver mumbled something about costing extra, but he ignored him. "I was hoping that maybe... you two could do it."

"Why us?" Masaru asked, shoving in the last case--a gym bag. "Why can't you do it?"

"I-" his father began before a younger boy ran down the walkway.

"Father!" Kakeru called. "Where are you going? Can I go too? Please please please?"

"It looks like you can tell him now," Satoru mumbled as Masaru closed the trunk. The middle brother settled next to his older brother, watching the helplessness on their father's face. To say the least, Masaru was surprised by that look.

The Shidou father was anguished as he picked Kakeru up. "Ah, you can't come with me because, well, it's business. You'd get bored."

"Business?" Kakeru frowned. "Oh! You mean like work? I wouldn't get bored--I like kendo too! _Please_? Can I come?"

Behind him, the taxi driver glanced at his watch and back at the father and son moment. Masaru sighed. Kakeru must have sensed that his father was leaving, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten out of the bath so quickly! His gray robe was sloppily tied on and his hair was soaking wet; Masaru could see droplets tumbling down the back of the seven year old's neck. He hadn't even bothered putting on sandals!

His father bit his lip nervously--this was totally out of his character! "Ah, no, sorry, but you wouldn't enjoy it very much," he said. "Besides, I don't know how long I'm going to be gone!"

Kakeru groaned silently as his father set him down; Masaru felt sorry for him. He didn't know what was going on, and he didn't understand why his father was leaving. He only heard not even half the truth. But what their father said next brightened up Masaru's hopes that maybe, _maybe_ Kakeru and Hikaru would never have to find out why he had left!

"Don't worry! I promise I'll be back for your birthday! Yours and Hikaru-san's. How about that?"

Masaru met his father's eyes after he uttered the promise almost threateningly. He didn't like to be like this with him, but he felt that in order to protect Kakeru and Hikaru both, he had to make sure that his father was going to keep that promise.

His father only smiled as he stepped into the taxi, reassuring Masaru's trust greatly. Kakeru's birthday was in the summertime--at the end of July. Hikaru's birthday was only a week afterwards. Two months away!

Masaru smiled. Sure, they could do two months without their father. Just as long that when he comes back, he stays back. He didn't want to go through this for a second time.

As the taxi drove off, Masaru grinned at Kakeru and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on! Let's go help Mother with supper!" he suggested.

"Where was Hikaru-chan?" Kakeru wondered. "Why didn't she say 'bye' to Father?"

"Ah, er," Masaru stumbled. "I don't know where she is--Satoru?"

Satoru shook his head, and Masaru had nothing more to ask. "Ah, I see. We just let her run off by herself without her telling us! Come on! We must find her before harm is done upon her!"

"I'll go look for her," Satoru interjected calmly. "You two go help Mother. She really needs it now."

Masaru glared at Satoru for a moment before the words finally sunk in. _That's right, Kakeru doesn't know what's going on_, he sighed. _Satoru is the best person to spill the beans to Hikaru without hurting her feelings._

"Oh, fine," Masaru growled. "Alright, Kakeru-kun, let's go help Mother with dinner."

"But-"

"What? You don't trust Satoru?" Masaru widened his eyes in playful shock. "Such low faith in your eldest brother is not allowed, Kakeru-kun! I must challenge you to a duel later!"

"_Whaaat_?"

Masaru winked at Satoru before running back inside the house, dragging behind a protesting Kakeru. Normally he wouldn't agree to such a thing, but considering the position of the two youngest siblings, Masaru knew that there was no choice. Satoru had to tell Hikaru without the interference of either Kakeru or himself.

* * *

The news of her father leaving the Shidou household didn't faze Hikaru too much. He was supposed to be back in a couple of months; it wasn't as if he'd be gone forever.

Hikaru knew that if she didn't think about it at all, her father would be back before she knew it. That's what happened every year with the festivals, her birthday, Christmas, and the New Year's! She never thought about it or counted down the days until that particular holiday arrived like Masaru did, and time flew as quickly as a bird did.

It had been a week since their father left, and Hikaru noticed a change in her mother. She wasn't as cheerful as she usually was. She didn't play with Hikaru anymore; she just spent most of her time either in the kitchen, doing the laundry, or vacuuming the house. Hikaru was beginning to miss her mother more than her father.

Satoru was doing a fine job taking care of the kendo school and even managed to find a substitute to teach the students when he was busy with homework and household chores. Hikaru was elated that despite everything he had to do, he still found time to teach Hikaru privately without Masaru or Kakeru. Masaru was growing tired of kendo, anyway, but Kakeru was still interested.

From time to time, Hikaru and Kakeru would spar together. It was no longer a secret; Kakeru claimed that it was no longer any fun to sneak into the dojo--there was no threat of getting into trouble. Satoru and Masaru had always known that the two of them would use the dojo without their father's permission--they also knew that it was Kakeru's idea all the time. Hikaru, however, was relieved that they didn't have to. She hated to disappoint her father, much less getting into any trouble!

Kakeru and Hikaru had been spending more time with each other as a result and have been getting along with each more than they ever thought they would.

It was nice.

"So, Hikaru-chan!" Kakeru said cheerfully from the first branch on the tree. "Pretty soon you'll be going to school with me!"

"After summer is over, Kakeru-oniisama," Hikaru pointed out from the boulder she was sitting on, just beneath the tree. The two children were in the backyard of the Shidou Kendo School basking in the bright spring sun. "Is grade school really fun?"

"Well," Kakeru considered, glancing up at the rest of the branches he had yet to climb, "that would depend on your teacher. But Father will be back by then, so don't worry! He'll help you get over any scary feeling you might have!"

Hikaru smiled brightly. "Yeah!"

From inside of the house, the two youngest siblings heard Masaru scream in agony. "ARGH!"

"Um, Kakeru-oniisama...?"

"He's just trying to do his homework," Kakeru told her. "I think."

Hikaru frowned. "Will I have to do any homework when I start going to school?"

"Not at first, but in the first grade, the homework isn't too hard," reassured Kakeru. "If you have any problems, you can always come to us, your trusty brothers!"

She smiled as Masaru yelled for Satoru. "When I'm ten years old like Masaru-oniisama, is the homework going to be really hard?"

"Only if you're Masaru!" Kakeru laughed as he jumped out of the tree. "Let's go to the park! I'll show you the place Father used to take me, and when he gets back, maybe he'll let you go on the big slide!"

"Why not now?"

"Because he's not here, and it's the _big_ slide!" Kakeru huffed. "You're too small to go on it by yourself!" He began running towards the house. "Get your shoes on and I'll tell Satoru and Mother where we're going!"

Hikaru smiled. There was yet something else to look forward to when her father returned, but she also began to wonder. With brothers such as hers, was there really any need for him to be here otherwise?

The last thing Hikaru expected, two months later, was how much her family really was dependent on him.

To Be Continued


	2. That Little Furball!

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Two: That Little Furball!**_

**Bearit's Notes**: Okay... hopefully this chapter's less boring than the first. Well, it's got humor, which the first chapter lacked, so I'm sure it's a tad better. Angst issues _again_, but this time, they're _resolved_. Ain't that something? Oh, and this is an introduction of a new major character... you'll find out who soon enough. Clue: he isn't fanmade. He's actually somebody Clamp created. (Yes, the kids are more or less the same age. They'll be young for another four chapters or so before we catch up to the beginning of Magic Knight Rayearth.)

* * *

"Oi! Satoru-san!" a man with a navy blue uniform called from the front gate. He was seated on a bicycle with a hefty bag slung over his shoulder, holding in his hand several half sheets of white and red paper.

Satoru glanced up from his sweeping and smiled at the mailman. "Good afternoon, Michii-san. Anything for this family?"

"Yes, you have mail. Not a lot, and forgive me for prying, but it seems that you have a letter here with no return address." The postman Michii offered the bundle to the eldest brother with a laugh on his face.

"I'll still take it," Satoru told the mailman as the envelopes passed from the older man's hand to the young adolescent's. "Surely it's not a ransom note."

"You're getting better at making jokes," Michii teased kindly. As Satoru was shuffling through the mail, seeing what the family received, Michii began speaking with a less lighthearted tone, "How is your family doing without your father? Is your mother doing any better?"

Satoru sighed. "Mother's been doing worse. We're all trying to be supportive of her."

"I see," Michii nodded. "Well, give your mother my regards. See you later, Satoru-san."

As Michii peddled down the road, Satoru opened the envelope that the mailman had been referring to earlier: the one without a return address. Awkwardly enough, it was addressed to him--not the Shidou family, not his mother or father. That was the only assurance he had as he began reading, but that assurance trampled away after he finished reading.

_Satoru-san,_

_Tell your mother and siblings that I will not be able to come back when I promised. Also, please tell Kakeru-san that I'm very sorry. I just cannot return yet._

_Your father_

_P.S. Don't expect me around Christmastime, either. I fear that--_

"Father," Satoru shook his head, neatly folding the letter back up and replacing it in the envelope, "you're only two weeks late--for Hikaru's birthday."

* * *

It was sunset by the time Masaru was informed of the letter their father sent.

He had no idea what his older brother had been thinking, but somehow he managed to convince Masaru that it was time that Kakeru and Hikaru found out why their father really left.

Satoru had said that to spare them too much questioning, they would tell them the truth when the two eldest siblings told them that their father wasn't coming home at all for the rest of the year--perhaps even longer. Since Satoru had already told their mother, it was going to be even easier for him to share the news with the two youngest siblings; unfortunately, for once, Masaru had not been with Satoru at that time. Telling Kakeru and Hikaru was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done in his ten years of life.

Kakeru and Hikaru were knelt obediently in front of Satoru and Masaru. The middle brother was the only one of the four standing as he wandered from the window to the door and back to the group again.

_Why isn't Satoru telling them?_ Masaru stopped his pacing at the window and glanced back worrisomely at his younger brother and sister. _Isn't this supposed to be easy for him? The tension is growing here... and _I_ know what's going on!_

As Masaru shuffled to the door, Satoru calmly said, "Masaru, you're making us anxious. Why don't you sit down?"

"You were waiting for me, weren't you?" Masaru muttered lightly, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to his elder brother. He was still an outcast.

Once again, there was silence, and Masaru wondered what Satoru was planning. This was supposed to be as easy as telling Kakeru and Hikaru what was going on with their father, either comforting or calming them down, and then go back to their daily chores. Satoru shouldn't even have to think about choosing the right words to say; he was good at picking the right words randomly without little, if any thought at all.

It was little Hikaru who first gathered up her courage. "Um, what did you want to talk to us about? We aren't in trouble, are we?"

Masaru chuckled. "I don't know. What did Kakeru-kun force you to do today that would get you two into trouble?"

The eight-year-old Kakeru gave Masaru a dirty look that spelled, "Why is it always _me_?"

"Masaru," Satoru broke into the lighthearted mood with a darker tone, "I think it would be wise to tell them what's up with Father."

Kakeru and Hikaru tensed with discomfort, and Masaru tensed with irritation. "You're mean, Satoru! Why do I have to do it? You're the oldest one! You're the one who got that letter in the mail this afternoon!"

"Letter?" Kakeru asked meekly.

"Masaru, please."

"Wha- wha- why?" Masaru ceased his whining once he realized that he had no choice. _This must be another test of Satoru's! I _must_ pass! You really are mean, older brother!_ "Um, we got a letter in--no, wait. _Satoru_ got a letter in the mail today from Father, and, well he's not going to be back at all--"

Kakeru jumped to his feet. "What?! You mean he isn't going to be back even for Christmas? Not for my next year's birthday when I turn nine? When Hikaru-chan turns seven? He--he's not going to be back ever?!"

"I didn't say--"

"It's bad enough that he broke his promise!"

"But--"

"Why isn't he? WHY? Did I do something wrong? Does he hate me now?"

"Kakeru-kun!" Masaru stood up quickly, resting his hands on Kakeru's shoulders to calm him down. The youngest brother already had tears streaming down his face. "Kakeru-kun, please listen. I was just getting to that part, and Father will be back! We just don't know when."

"He--he still broke his promise," Kakeru sobbed as he slumped to the floor again.

Masaru took a quick moment to examine Hikaru's condition. Her body was still apprehensive, but her face was covered with sorrowful features.

He struggled during his search to find the right words to wipe the tears off Kakeru's face and to prevent the tears from coming from Hikaru's eyes, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't! The worst that could happen was Kakeru hating Hikaru for their father leaving and Hikaru blaming herself; the best that could happen was Kakeru understanding and Hikaru... blaming herself.

There was no way to prevent the tears coming from Hikaru's eyes. It was not possible.

"All we know is that Father won't be back for the rest of the year," Masaru mumbled, the volume of his voice decreasing every three words. "And why he won't be back, uh, we weren't entirely honest with you as to why he even left."

"Huh?" Kakeru and Hikaru stared at Masaru intently just as the middle brother looked away. He didn't care if he was going to fail Satoru's 'test;' he just didn't want to be the cause of Kakeru or Hikaru's grief.

"Satoru," he whispered, "I can't. I can't tell them. Please. Please do it for me."

When Satoru's silence indicated a positive, Masaru trudged to the sliding paper door. Since all the rooms in the house, with the exception of the kitchen and the bathroom, had doors to each other, the inner hallways, and the backyard, he found himself in the garden of the Shidou Kendo School. Masaru sat down on the wooden planks that separated the rooms from the garden, pressing his palm to his chin.

_I hate this. Why do I have to be so weak? Maybe if I had kept going on with kendo instead of giving up on it, I would have been stronger. Or maybe if I meditated like Satoru does. I have no good qualities about me! I'm useless. Useless!_

"He WHAT?" Kakeru's voice ripped through the quiet void Masaru wasn't quite enjoying. Hikaru's tiny gasp was barely noticeable over Kakeru's outburst.

_He told them. Please, Kakeru-kun, it's not Hikaru-chan's fault! Please realize that! Satoru, I hope you got to finish your sentence._

"He left because Hikaru-chan beat him in kendo? That can't be the only reason! Is it?"

"I..." Hikaru muttered, her voice quavering.

_Hikaru-chan_, Masaru threw both of his hands to his head in frustration. _It's not your fault! It's not your fault!_

"It really _is_ the only reason?! That's it? That's no good reason! That... he... I... I HATE HIM!"

Masaru heard the thumping of footsteps behind him and simmer down to his right. He turned and saw Kakeru running towards his room, and behind the middle brother, he heard Satoru yell, "Kakeru! Come back!"

As he jumped up to his feet, Masaru took a glance into his older brother's room. Hikaru was shocked, and Satoru knew he had to stay to comfort her. The look on the eldest Shidou brother's face pleaded for Masaru to talk to Kakeru while he tried to calm Hikaru's heart.

Masaru nodded and, without further hesitation, darted after his little brother.

"Kakeru-kun! Wait!"

* * *

_Thank you, Masaru_.

Satoru sighed as he looked at his little sister. "Hikaru..."

The six-year-old trembled with her fists clenched tightly against her thighs. "He left because of me? It's because of that day when I beat him... he left. Kakeru-oniisama..."

Hikaru choked on her words and shifted her gaze to the floor. Satoru respected her privacy and kept his distance, but he was already close enough to touch her if he needed to.

"Hikaru, don't blame yourself. It isn't your fault," Satoru said sincerely. "Father has his own sense of honor that you probably can't understand at your age."

"But Kakeru-oniisama..."

"He doesn't hate you."

Hikaru snapped her head up, her face wet with tears. "But Satoru-oniisama, Kakeru-oniisama hates Father! He hates him and it's all my fault! It's my fault that Father broke his promise, it's my fault he left... Kakeru-oniisama should hate _me_! Everything that happened..."

Satoru placed a hand on Hikaru's head, shuffling her hair a bit. "It's not your fault, Hikaru. Father left because," he hesitated; did he really want to make up a white lie? "Father left because he wanted to provide a better challenge for you. He couldn't do that here since you are the strongest person in the family; you are the only one who could give him a challenge. He doesn't want to do that to himself, but to you so that you can become even stronger. None of us hate you, Hikaru. We all love you."

"But if I didn't beat him in kendo..."

"Father was proud of you that day. That was why he left."

Hikaru was silent. Satoru stood and headed for the door that led to the inner corridor of the house. "Come on, we should help Mother with dinner now."

"Um, Satoru-oniisama?"

Satoru turned back to his little sister, who was in the same position as he had left her. "Yes?"

"Maybe I should quit doing kendo," she said. "So that when Father comes back, he can beat me, and then he'll stay. Kakeru-oniisama wouldn't hate him, and Mother can be happy."

The eldest Shidou brother's frowned. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"Hikaru, if I were you, I'd think this through a little more," Satoru suggested. "This may not be the wisest decision. Father may want you to keep practicing."

"But if I beat him again, he'll leave again!" Hikaru protested. "Kakeru-oniisama will hate him again and maybe this time, me too!"

Satoru sighed. "Hikaru, I strongly suggest that you think this over. If, by tomorrow morning, you still want to do this, I won't keep you from doing it. But please, Hikaru, I want you to think about what you're doing."

Hikaru fidgeted with her pants. "Promise not to tell Mother or Masaru-oniisama or Kakeru-oniisama until tomorrow morning?"

The eldest Shidou brother smiled. "I promise."

* * *

"Oi, Kakeru-kun," Masaru peeked into his little brother's room intently. It was empty, but Masaru knew he had seen Kakeru run in here. "Hey, little brother, I need to talk to you."

Nothing.

"Kakeru-kun, come out from wherever you are and talk to me!"

This time, Masaru was met with a sniffle, which seemed to have come out of the closet. Masaru tiptoed to the end of the closet that wasn't clogged up with a futon and toys (he wasn't in the mood to be bombarded) and threw open the rice paper door.

"Kakeru-kun!" the middle brother sang.

"Leave me alone," Kakeru snapped from the bottom shelf of the closet. He was huddled in the corner, hugging his knees tightly.

Masaru frowned. "How cold, Kakeru-kun! And just when I came to give you some brotherly comfort after what you just found out!" When the younger brother did not respond, Masaru crawled inside and sat next to his brother. "You know, you shouldn't have stormed out on Satoru like that. It was rude."

"If Father was really doing work business, I would've forgave him."

"Well, in a way, this is pretty much work..."

"No, it isn't!" Kakeru buried his head in the center of the ring his arms made. "He can come back anytime he wants to! He broke his promise on _purpose_! I hate him!"

"Kakeru-kun..."

"And why he left is just making Hikaru-chan feel bad!"

"It's not like you're making it better," Masaru scowled before realizing what he had just said. _Whoops. It wasn't supposed to come out like that!_ "Um, well, because of your rudeness when you ran out of Satoru's room, Hikaru-chan thinks you hate her too!"

Kakeru brought his head up and glared at his older brother. "No, she doesn't."

"Hikaru-chan feels guilty because of you! Do you not feel any shame?" Masaru couldn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth. He was supposed to be comforting Kakeru, not making him feel bad! "Ah, well, Kakeru-kun, um, if Father had died, would you have felt the same way as you do now?"

"If he died, I wouldn't care."

"Don't think about now, think about before you knew why he left!"

Kakeru hesitated. "No," he muttered slowly. "But you and Satoru wouldn't have told us why he left if he had died, would you?"

"Well..."

Masaru didn't know the answer to that question, but he would bet anything that they wouldn't have. It wouldn't have mattered at that time.

_But would Kakeru-kun really not care if Father died now?_

"I don't... I'm not sure," Masaru admitted.

Kakeru nodded as if he seemed to understand, but by the concern on his face, Masaru could tell that something else was on his little brother's mind.

"Um, after dinner, I'll need to talk to you and Satoru," Kakeru finally said. "This is something I want to keep secret from Hikaru-chan until we get it--if we get it."

"Eh?"

* * *

The next day, while Hikaru was helping her mother do the laundry, the three Shidou brothers headed downtown to pick up a gift for Hikaru. On the way home, Masaru was the least pleased of the trio.

"I can't believe you actually agreed to this, Satoru."

"It makes Kakeru happy."

"And it's going to make Hikaru-chan happy, too!"

"You know, when Father gets home he's _not_ going to like this."

"That's his fault for breaking his promise and hurting Hikaru-chan's feelings."

"Oh, so this is a form of revenge, is that it?"

"Masaru, watch where you're holding that bag. The food might spill out," Satoru warned.

Masaru pouted as he shifted the contents of the plastic bag. "Actually, I can't believe Mother even agreed to this. Is she seeking revenge against Father, too?" The gift yipped happily in response. "Ah, so she is, eh? How did you get to know such a thing?"

"Kakeru, wrap the end of the leash on your arm so that if he runs, we won't lose him."

"Okay."

Masaru frowned at his older brother. "Just because the pet store owner called the dog a 'he' doesn't mean it is a 'he!' Right, boy, girl, whatever you are?" Masaru said, petting the puppy in Kakeru's hands. "OUCH! You stupid furball! Ow, ow, ow..."

Kakeru laughed at his brother's misfortune. From the corner of his eyes, Satoru saw that the young puppy had claimed Masaru's hand as his lunch. "Look at that! He doesn't like you very much, Masaru!"

"We can tell easily if the dog is a girl or boy by looking at the bottom of his body," Satoru informed Masaru once he managed to get his hand free. "You can check if you want."

"Uh, no thanks. I'll just take your word for it." Masaru inspected his hand. "Good. Not bleeding. Say, what's its name going to be?"

Kakeru glanced at his brother curiously. "I thought we were going to let Hikaru-chan name him."

"Huh. Okay then. I guess I'm calling it 'it' until we get home. Where are we going to keep him?"

"You just called him 'him' instead of 'it,' Masaru," the youngest brother pointed out dangerously. "Well, why don't we keep him inside the house? I'm sure Mother wouldn't mind, and it would make Hikaru-chan extra happy!"

Satoru frowned. "Actually, Kakeru, we have to housetrain him before he can stay inside. We don't want him using the bathroom inside the house, do we? Since he's still a puppy, he doesn't know what's wrong from right yet. We'll have to train him."

"He has to stay outside? We should've bought him a doghouse," Kakeru said, glancing up at the sky momentarily. The youngest brother soon noticed that they were almost home and perked up with excitement once again. "Satoru! Please hold him for me. I have to get Hikaru-chan!"

Kakeru placed the brown puppy into Satoru's arms and freed his left arm of the tangled leash. As he darted off to the house, Masaru muttered, "Well, there's no turning back from here."

"You thought it was a good idea last night," Satoru pointed out, tying the leash around his arm.

"That was last night. I think Father may have been lying when he said that he was allergic to animals," Masaru pondered. "After all this stuff we bought, owning a pet might not be so easy. And a dog! Why not a cat? At least cats know where to use the bathroom at!"

"Masaru, we're home," Satoru told his younger brother once they reached the front gates of the Shidou household. Masaru huffed irritably while the two brothers waited for their younger siblings to come out.

They didn't have to wait much longer. Kakeru soon ran out of the home dragging a surprised Hikaru behind him.

"Wh- what's going on, Kakeru-oniisama?" Hikaru asked once the two younger siblings met up with the two older ones. Satoru took this moment to set the puppy down, and as if the canine knew what was going on, he immediately jumped on Hikaru, sending her to her back. "A... doggie? A doggie?! Is this for real, Satoru-oniisama?"

Kakeru laughed. "It's not your imagination, Hikaru-chan, I promise!"

Joyfully, Hikaru giggled as the puppy began licking her face. "Really?"

"I told you it would work," Kakeru sneered at Masaru playfully. The middle brother did not object for once; a grin was plastered on his face.

Satoru found that he, too, was smiling for the first time in almost three months. It felt good to see his little sister--his only sister--in her happiest mood.

"What's his name?" Hikaru asked as she sat up, petting her puppy's head who was sitting in her lap, wagging his tail blissfully.

The brothers exchanged glances, hoping that Hikaru wouldn't see. _We know what she means_, Satoru sent the mental thought to his two younger brothers, even though they'd never get it. _We forgot that she treats animals just like humans._

"Eh? You guys forgot to ask his mother?"

It was Kakeru who first came up with something to say. "Of course we didn't forget to ask! His name is... uh... Hikari!"

"Gee, that's real original, naming the dog after Hikaru-chan," Masaru muttered. Satoru gave him a Look, but Hikaru was oblivious to what her ten-year-old brother had just said and the look that her fourteen-year-old brother gave him. Kakeru ignored Masaru completely.

"Hikari? That has the same meaning as my name!" Hikaru cheered. Hikari, the puppy, began bouncing in her lap and running around her before settling back down again. "Hm? You want to play with me? Okay!" She glanced at Satoru questioningly. "If it's okay with you."

Satoru smiled. "Of course it's okay. Let's stay inside the gate so that Hikari can get used to our house. Maybe next week the six of us will go down to the park together."

"Six of us?"

"Hikari and Mother included, of course."

Hikaru giggled in agreement and jumped to her feet. "Yeah! C'mon, Hikari, you want to play fetch? You don't know how? I've seen how some other kids and their doggies were doing it, and it's really easy! I'll teach you!" She glanced at Satoru, Masaru, and Kakeru once again. "Thank you, _oniisama-tachi_!"

As Hikaru ran with Hikari through the yard, Kakeru turned to them once again. "I told you it would work. After all, she always wanted a puppy, right?"

Satoru smiled as Masaru ruffled Kakeru's hair. "Summer vacation ought to be longer. I think you get smarter during break rather than at school!"

"At least _I_ don't have trouble with _my_ homework."

"OI! That's only because you're in third grade!"

"OW! Going on fourth next week! OW! Quit it!"

Satoru chuckled while Masaru and Kakeru continued to bicker. The worst that could've happened, as Masaru had warned him before they told the two younger siblings about their father, was Kakeru hating Hikaru for their father leaving. The least worst thing that could've happen was Hikaru blaming herself. While Hikaru still did--and consequently quit kendo--and Kakeru only hated their _father_, Satoru knew that the two children will be able to go on with their lives.

After all, that was all a man needed to get stronger.

So why wasn't their father putting his defeat in the past?

To Be Continued

**Translation Notes**: "Oniisama-tachi" roughly translates to "brother group" or "group of brothers". I guess a more logical explanation could be "my brothers".


	3. No Mercy

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Three: No Mercy**_

**Bearit's Notes**: Melodramatic? Maybe. I think so, anyway. I promise something less angst-ridden in the next chapter, though. Have you ever wondered how Masaru and Kakeru would react to a bully? Hmmm...

* * *

The sun was shining high in the autumn noon, and at Shougaku Elementary School, the children were enjoying the precious sunlight that would soon go away in the coming month. It was recess, many children's favorite time of the day, and Hikaru with her three friends were playing the game most children liked to play on the jungle gym: "Let's Pretend."

Fumiko Tachiiri took the lead in the game as a queen in a fairy-tale land. She decided that Rei Chuutei should be the princess, since Rei was the smallest and acted a bit younger than she should--she _always_ carried around her doll--and Sera Araki was a "good witch." Since Hikaru was the one who acted the most like a boy, Fumiko decided that Hikaru should be a girl-knight. Fumiko wanted Hikaru to be Usagi Tsukino from "_Sailor Moon_" at first, but since Hikaru hardly ever watched television, a knight Hikaru became.

Hikaru already defeated several monsters that threatened the castle, and Sera created an episode in which she tried to make Fumiko a love potion, but it turned her into a frog. All of that had been over in a mere fifteen minutes; now Fumiko was back to bossing people around.

"Um, Fumiko-chan," Hikaru called up to the very top of the jungle gym, where Fumiko's 'throne' was, "do you think we should get anybody else into the game?"

"Fumiko-_sama_," said Fumiko. "And if you want to invite your brother to join your army, I give you--ah, per, um, Sera-san, you know when we go on field trips..."

"Permission?" Sera offered as Hikaru gave Fumiko a funny look.

_This isn't 'pretend' right now..._

"Yes, that's it. I give you permission to do so."

"Um, okay, but Fumiko-chan--"

"Fumiko-_sama_. Or Queen Fumiko."

Hikaru sighed; it was no use, for when they were playing 'Let's Pretend,' they were always in 'Pretend Land' until playtime was over. "O-Okay, Fumiko-sama. That wasn't what I meant. We should get somebody to be like the king--"

"Prince," Fumiko said. "There will be no king because _I'm_ in charge. There will only be a prince or a joker or another knight or a bad guy."

"Okay, Fumiko-chan."

"Fumiko-_sama_."

_You're really weird sometimes, Fumiko-chan._

"Fumiko-_sama_," Hikaru said as she climbed a rung of the jungle gym ladder to look for one of her brothers. They were the only boys that would join the little game if she asked; she was not well-acquainted with any other boy, so she was sure they would say "no".

She perked up once she spotted her brother Kakeru sitting underneath a tree with his friend Yuujirou, who was also Rei's older brother. The way Hikaru figured Fumiko would think, Yuujirou would be Rei's brother, a prince, and Kakeru would be another prince from another land trying to win Rei's heart. Fumiko was always a fan of love stories, after all.

With Kakeru and Yuujirou, though, anything would be fun; it didn't matter if there wasn't a real fairytale going on; a mock sword fight between Kakeru and Yuujirou would be funny to watch!

"Hey! Hidehiro, give me back Kitsune-san!"

"Make me!"

Hikaru looked behind her by the sound of Rei's voice and saw that her classmate Hidehiro Akugenta had Rei's stuffed animal fox in his hands above his head--far above Rei's reach. Rei tried to jump up to wear Hidehiro had his hands so that she could get her doll back on her own, but Hidehiro only teased her further by snickering and moving his hands around so that it was impossible for her to grab it.

"You meanie! Give him back already!"

"No way! A fox doll is exactly what I need," Hidehiro sneered, "for... my experimentations."

"I don't know what an 'experi-man-taishun' is, but if you don't give me back Kitsune-san...!"

"You'll what? Cry?"

And indeed, Rei looked like she was on the verge of tears. Hikaru had had enough; she jumped down from the jungle gym, Fumiko quickly following, and stood in between Hidehiro and Rei.

"Give her back her doll!" Hikaru demanded angrily, giving Hidehiro the angriest look she had given anybody in her seven years of life.

Hidehiro was unfazed. "Oh, what do you know? The little red-head is getting angry! C'mon Shorty! I dare ya to try to get it back from me!"

"Give. It. Back." Fumiko stood next to Hikaru, showing her fists threateningly.

Hidehiro laughed evilly. "You guys are just girls! What do you think you can do? Beat me up?"

* * *

"I don't get you, Kakeru," Yuujirou Chuutei groaned. "You know every little bit there is to know about _Dragonball Z_, but you don't even watch the show!"

Kakeru rolled his eyes. How many times has he had to explain this? "Like I _said_, Masaru has watched _Dragonball_ ever since it came out in that manga magazine he likes to read. He's made me watched it a couple of times."

"Did he show you the episode last night when Goku went Super Saiya-jin?"

"A _what_?"

"Never mind," Yuujirou said. "So you _don't_ know every little bit. Have you seen any of the _Gundam_ series?"

"A _what_ series?"

"_Dr. Slump_?"

"Dr. _what_?"

"Never mind. Please tell me you've seen _Crayon Shin-chan_, though!"

"Oh yeah! I love that series!" Kakeru piped up. He wasn't an avid television watcher like his brother and Yuujirou and most other children his age were, but he watched the shows that appealed to him; most of the time, it was funny shows, such as _Crayon Shin-chan_. "Are you going to watch the movie when it comes out?"

"Yep! Father is going to take me to see it when Mother takes Rei-chan to see the _Sailor Moon_ movie," Yuujirou said with a proud smile. "You think Satoru-san will let you go see it with me?"

"I hope so!" Kakeru smiled, a momentary burst of jealousy flowing through him. The Chuutei family was a happy one; his father hadn't abandoned them, his mother was in great contact with Yuujirou and Rei, and Yuujirou and Rei hardly got into any fights. Kakeru only saw his mother when he found himself in trouble; his father was gone, and Satoru was the one in charge. It really wasn't fair at all--with the only exception that Satoru was less strict than their father.

"Are you going to buy the Super Nintendo when it comes out?"

"Satoru already doesn't like that Masaru spends most of his New Year's money and allowance on comic books and music and most of his time watching television," said Kakeru. "I don't do good in school--better than Masaru, at least--so I don't think--"

"Hidehiro! If you don't give it back--" Hikaru's angry voice was picked up on Kakeru's radar-like hearing.

"You'll what? Tell on me, ya little babies?"

"No, I'll--"

The boy laughed in a way that Kakeru didn't like, and Kakeru sharply spun his head to the source of the commotion.

"You don't think...?" Yuujirou began, until he looked to the group that Kakeru was glaring at and growled. "What does that punk think he's _doing_?!"

Sure enough, over by the jungle gym only a few meters away, was a round, chubby kid with a raggedy fox doll in his hands. Yuujirou's little sister Rei was on the ground crying with a short-haired girl by her side, while Hikaru and a curly-haired girl were yelling at the chubby boy angrily. The boy, who was called Hidehiro, continued his teasing and snickering.

Kakeru narrowed his eyes and stood up sharply. "Let's go, Yuujirou. _Nobody_ messes with _our_ cute little sisters."

"Right on, Kakeru."

* * *

_"When your brother gets home, you are going to get an earful from him! Now go to your room!"_

Those were the first and last words his mother had spoken to him all day, but Kakeru wasn't ashamed of himself as his mother would hope he would be. He was angry. Nobody understood exactly what happened and nobody understood _why_. His mother didn't want to hear any of it, the principal could have cared less, and his teacher was willing enough to give him detention for the next two weeks.

But for now, he was suspended for the rest of the day.

Satoru was going to get a big surprise when he arrived home since he's usually home before Kakeru and Masaru and Hikaru were.

Kakeru looked at his alarm clock. 1:45. Satoru should be home any minute.

The nine-year-old boy fell on the tatami mat and stared up at the ceiling. The only place he was allowed in the household was his own room for the rest of the night. He was forbidden to eat in the living room with the rest of the family or find a comfortable seat in Masaru's room to watch television--though, for the latter, he was actually happy about. His mother did take away his toys and drawing pads and modeling kits, so he was only left with his homework and boring books that did nothing but teach.

He was going to spend the rest of the day either doing work or sitting in the middle of his room fuming.

Watching anime with Masaru actually didn't sound too bad anymore...

"I'm home."

Kakeru sighed with much fury and sat up. He knew what was coming next.

"Satoru, go talk to your brother. He won't listen to me anymore, but I already grounded him. I need you to go talk to him."

A pause. "Kakeru or Masaru?"

"Kakeru."

_Maybe Satoru would go nicer on me than Mother would, anyway._

The rice paper door slid open, and Satoru stood in the doorway with not an annoyed look but a compassionate one. Kakeru let out a breath of relief but still had no desire to talk about it. How was he absolutely sure that Satoru would understand?

"Kakeru, what happened at school today?" Satoru asked as he walked into the room and sat in front of Kakeru.

The younger brother hesitated. "Nothing."

"Then there should be a reason why you're home so early today," he said calmly, concerned, "and why Mother is so upset with you right now."

For a moment there was silence. Kakeru knew that Satoru would stay until he told him what exactly was wrong, but he was unsure if Satoru would really go easy on him once he told him what had happened. Of course, Kakeru wanted to tell him the entire story, which nobody so far had yet dared to listen to.

"Is Yuujirou in trouble too?"

Kakeru jolted in surprise. "Wh-why?"

Satoru only smiled. "If Yuujirou is in trouble too, then I know it isn't completely your fault whatever happened. I'm not saying that part of the blame would go to Yuujirou, but he does try to keep you away from trouble unless--"

"--unless his little sister was being bullied like Hikaru-chan was?"

The older brother blinked and frowned but kept quiet. Kakeru took this as a sign that Satoru was listening and would most likely understand.

"There's this kid named Akugenta--Hidehiro Akugenta, I think--and while Yuujirou and me were talking about... stuff... we heard Hidehiro teasing Yuujirou's little sister Rei-chan and not giving her back her fox doll, and Hikaru-chan and Fumiko-chan were trying to get it back, but they couldn't, and he was being mean to them, and... well, Yuujirou and me decided that we oughta help them, so... well, it's not our fault! Really!"

Satoru shook his head lightly. "You didn't get into a fight, did you?"

"No!"

"So why are you in trouble?"

Kakeru kept quiet. This is the part that Satoru would be disappointed with since this part is the one that he found himself in trouble with. This is the part that Hidehiro had used to his advantage to keep Kakeru away from Hikaru for at least the rest of the week, letting him bully her and her friends as much as he wished although Kakeru had emphasized...

"Kakeru?"

"I... I told him that if he ever bothered Hikaru-chan and her friends again..."

Another pause, but Satoru understood immediately what had happened. "You threatened him. Kakeru, you know stuff like that would get you into serious trouble especially when you are grown up. Next thing you know, when you're twenty-five years old, you're threatening to kill somebody just because they forgot to pay you back--and that somebody could be Yuujirou--"

"I wouldn't do that to him!"

"You never know, Kakeru. The thing is, threats may make you feel strong, but they really make you look weak if you threaten to hurt somebody because you don't get your way."

"But it _wasn't_ about getting my way."

Satoru grinned the tiniest bit. "You can't always protect Hikaru. You have to let her have the chance to defend herself, no matter how much you think you need to protect her. She is a strong girl, after all."

"But still," Kakeru said, glaring at the tatami mat, "she can get hurt easily. She takes everything personally and she always blames herself for the littlest things!"

"Do you think she would blame herself for you getting in trouble today?"

The younger brother trembled. "I hope not."

"That's fine. Then I won't tell her why you're in trouble and make sure that Mother doesn't tell her either," said Satoru. "For now, why don't you try to do your homework and try to get ahead of your class? Maybe Mother would put this behind her if you manage to become one of the top ten students in your class."

Kakeru nodded and glanced at the backpack he had thrown across the room once he had returned home an hour ago.

"Maybe."

* * *

Masaru was in disbelief. He was in trouble when he did not do anything _because_ he didn't do anything. At least he was not grounded like Kakeru was, but he might as well be since he could do nothing else at recess anymore.

No. Satoru and his mother decided to punish _him _for Kakeru getting into trouble.

At least, they might as well be doing so.

For the next two weeks, Satoru wanted Masaru to keep an eye on Kakeru to make sure that he would not go off and actually carry off the threat he proposed to this Hidehiro Akugenta kid the other day or even threaten anybody else for that matter. Masaru knew the school rules, but he thought that Kakeru's intentions were justified. After all, as Hikaru's older brothers, they should make sure that nobody tries to hurt her feelings. Satoru had better feel lucky that Kakeru only threatened Hidehiro Akugenta instead of beating him to the ground.

Because after the story Kakeru told Masaru, Masaru knew that he would have at least socked that kid.

Lunch aide or no lunch aide. School rules or no school rules.

Still, having Masaru watch over Kakeru at all times would be difficult. For the next two days, Kakeru was forbidden to go out to recess. In fact, for the next two weeks, the time that Masaru should be watching over Kakeru, the youngest brother had detention after school. Masaru had art classes to go to after school, so Masaru couldn't look after Kakeru then. And how was he supposed to watch Kakeru during school when he was in a totally different grade?

Well, considering that Kakeru and Hikaru were also in completely different grade levels, maybe nothing bad would happen.

Maybe. Hopefully, if Masaru wanted to keep out of trouble this time.

Masaru refused to get in trouble because of Kakeru, even if Satoru and his mother did not actually punish him.

However, since Kakeru was being detained in his classroom during recess, Masaru decided to keep an eye on Hikaru from a distance for a while. To make sure that Hikaru, her friends, or his friends suspected nothing, he invited his friends to hang out with him at the swings while Hikaru and her friends were playing on the nearby monkey bars.

Unfortunately, Masaru had strayed from watching his little sister and ended up striking up a lively conversation with his friends about ways to improve the Nintendo.

Although the Super Nintendo was going to be out soon...

"You know how the non-animated cartoons are?"

"Yeah..."

"Maybe there should be a game system where it looks like that!"

"Um, do you mean 3-D animation?" Masaru asked. The boys nodded, and Masaru smiled brightly. "Exactly! They should have something like that. Actually, I wonder if they should do that with animation TV shows."

"What? And watch the shows and play the games with those weird 3-D glasses?"

Masaru thought for a moment. _Good point; that could be bothersome._ "Well, maybe they could make it so you don't need 3-D glasses."

"How? Magic?"

"Not really..."

Masaru was unsure why he did, but the sight of a chubby kid, who looked about Kakeru's age, made him stop his train of thought and just watch him amble by the swings. For some reason, he looked fishy. "Hey, who's that kid?"

"Which one?"

"That fat boy--" Masaru pointed at the chubby kid's general direction. "--there."

"Oh, him! I know him; he's some kid in the second grade who's supposed to be in the fifth. Since people in the fourth and fifth grade tease him about being stupid, he's been picking on everybody in the second grade."

"That's not all; he also got some fifth grader in trouble yesterday."

"Guys," Masaru moaned, "that's not helping me. What's his name?"

"Hidehiro Akugenta. I think it was your brother he got into trouble, but I'm not sure. Did he?"

"So that's Hidehiro." Masaru nodded as he walked in the kid's direction. "I'll be right back guys!"

_Why is he heading over towards Hikaru and her friends?_ Masaru narrowed his eyes as he took cover behind a nearby tree._ He had better not be making trouble again--lucky thing Kakeru isn't out here or else I would have double the trouble!_

To make sure that he would not be seen by his sister, he did not peek past the tree. Instead, his back was to the trunk, and he was facing the opposite direction from Hikaru, but the tree was close enough that he could hear every word that the five second graders were saying.

"Heya Shorty and Cry-Baby! What's been going on?"

"Go away, Hidehiro. You got Hikaru's brother in trouble yesterday, and you were mean to Rei."

"Oh, boohoo, now you're getting into a bitchy girl, Fumiko! Is that what you're going to do all your life? Bitch?"

"_What_?"

_Where did this guy learn how to curse? Just because he's the same age as Kakeru doesn't mean anything!_

"It's not nice to say those types of word, Hidehiro. My father told me that those types of words could get you into trouble."

"Hm, now I have new names for you, Fumiko and Sera. Fumiko is a Bitchy Girl and Sera is a Daddy's Brat. Perfect!"

"Hidehiro, could you _please_ not make fun of my friends. I'm not really happy about you telling lies to the teacher about my brother," Hikaru said with an air of anger that Masaru had never heard out of her.

"Well, he did threaten me."

"That's because you were being mean to Rei-chan!"

"Yeah, you didn't tell the teacher the entire truth, you big meanie!"

"So? And besides, if you think about it, Shorty, Cry-Baby--"

_Can't he think up of any better names than that? What a wuss!_

"--it was your fault to begin with. If you hadn't made such a fuss and just asked me nicely to give your stupid doll back, I would have! But no, you had to yell and shout which got Shorty's brother's attention and, well, you know what happened from there."

_That little punk! He's doing exactly what Mother and Satoru and Kakeru and I had prevented Hikaru from thinking! But damn, I can't just go out there..._

"You didn't have to take Rei-chan's Kitsune-san in the first place!"

Masaru smiled wickedly. _You go Hikaru! Kakeru was wrong; you can take care of yourself!_

"Heh. I was bored. Whaddya expect? Besides, that's not all you're at fault for, Shorty."

The middle brother frowned as he pictured Hikaru forming a confused expression on her face.

"I heard the rumors about your family..."

_Oh crap!_

"... is it true that because you beat your weak father in kendo that he left you and your brothers as bastard children?"

_What. The hell. Did that guy. Just SAY?!_

"Weak? He wasn't weak!" Hikaru said angrily. "And what is a ba-"

"That does it, you little freak!" Masaru growled as he jumped out from behind the tree, shoving his sleeves up to his shoulders.

"Masaru-oniisama!"

"_Nobody_ insults my father. _Nobody_ puts any kind of blame on my family for anything. And _nobody_, especially you, will accuse any of us, especially not Hikaru-chan, of being bastard children and try to her at fault for it! Because we _do_ have a father, and he _will_ be back, and when he _does_, you will suck your pride on your thumb like a little _baby_!"

"Masaru-oniisama, quit it!" Hikaru pleaded as Masaru grabbed the collar of Hidehiro's shirt. "You'll get in trouble too!"

"And I'll take this damned brat down with me!" Masaru formed a fist and brought it behind his neck...

"Hold it right there, Shidou-san!"

* * *

His mother sighed wearily. "Satoru-kun, what are we going to do about your brothers? For the past two days in a row, both of them have gotten in trouble over Hikaru-chan and Akugenta-kun."

"You did hear about what the boy said to Hikaru today, didn't you?" Satoru asked with much concern. "What he said wasn't true since the word "bastard" can be confused with so many other meanings. I guess somebody must have taught Masaru and the boy that it meant "fatherless child" instead of "child born to unmarried parents"."

The aging mother shook her head. "No. From what I've heard, Akugenta-kun heard that from his older brother who _knows_ the meaning and used it as he saw it fit for this family. Mitsuru-san, your father, doesn't live with us anymore." She looked up at Satoru sadly. "Even I will admit that people are speculating that we were never married in the first place because of Mitsuru-san's long absence."

"Mother..."

"Even so," she said, closing her eyes, "tomorrow I'm going to go to the school and have a conference about this with Akugenta-kun's parents and the principal and both of the boys' teachers. We'll even discuss about how to punish both Masaru-kun and Akugenta-kun since they did break school rules in the end.

"Unfortunately..." She paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, the principal is suggesting that Hikaru-chan should go into counseling over this whole ordeal, too. I know she didn't do anything wrong and the teachers know, but they still want to make sure that she wasn't... emotionally scarred over what had just happened."

"Mother, isn't that what both Masaru and Kakeru had wanted to do the past two days? They wanted to keep her emotions safe. Kakeru told me, just before I left for school, that he never wants to see Hikaru cry. I think that was also a part of the reason why he threatened the boy the other day. Masaru, well, we all know how he hates for Hikaru to blame herself for anything, and his anger didn't allow him to remember that Hikaru doesn't know about the word "bastard" other than it's one of those words that she's not allowed to say."

"Do you think that Hikaru-chan is completely oblivious to what has been going on the past few days?"

"I didn't say that, Mother," Satoru said politely. "What I am saying is that maybe putting Hikaru into counseling isn't a great idea; Masaru and Kakeru would beat themselves up for not protecting Hikaru better."

She sighed. "So we shouldn't do it for Hikaru-chan but because Masaru-kun and Kakeru-kun--"

"I'm sure she has a little bit of a clue about why Masaru was so upset since she was angry herself--at least, that's what Masaru told me. But I'm sure that what she _would_ need, if she did need counseling, is not a school counselor, but somebody within the family."

"Somebody besides Masaru-kun and Kakeru-kun," his mother noted, "would mean you, Satoru-kun. Could you talk to her, then?"

Satoru blinked. He had not meant that, but since his mother was requesting that he do so, he found that there was no use arguing. "Fine."

"I'm still going to ground Masaru-kun for two weeks, and Kakeru-kun is still on his punishment for a few more days," the Shidou mother concluded. "But even so, all of this would never have happened if Mitsuru-san hadn't abandoned us--how long ago was it? More than a year, wasn't it?" Satoru nodded. "We have nobody to blame but your father."

"Mother--"

She only smiled as she stood up. "I'm going to get dinner ready. Why don't you and Hikaru-chan go and take Hikari out for a walk? It's a nice evening, after all."

Satoru sighed. _Translation: Go and talk to Hikaru _now_._

* * *

Hikaru peeked into her older brother's room and saw Masaru at his desk, furiously writing something. She figured he was doing his homework again, but he seemed just as angry as he had been at recess that day. She didn't know why, really; sure, Hidehiro might have made fun of her and her friends when Masaru had been around, but whatever a "bastard child" was, it sure had made Masaru very upset.

"Um, Masaru-oniisama?"

Masaru glanced up from the desk and gave Hikaru a small smile. "Hey, Hikaru-chan. What's up?"

"Is it okay if I talk to you?"

He frowned. "But you can always talk to me, so you don't need to ask. This isn't about during recess today, is it? Because I've gotten an earful from the lunch aides and the principal, and I think Mother and Satoru are going to do the same after dinner..."

"I-I don't want to talk to you about recess. Wait, I do, but I'm not mad or anything," Hikaru said sheepishly as she walked into the room. "I just want to know... why you got so angry and was going to beat up Hidehiro."

"Why? You were there, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but Hidehiro wasn't hurting us or anything. He was just saying some bad stuff. He wasn't even stealing anything from us this time."

"Hikaru-chan, he was insulting our family. Do you think I would even forgive him for that?"

"But why _can't_ you forgive him? I'm sure he didn't mean it!"

Masaru widened his eyes. "You mean you _do_ forgive him? After what he said?"

"He didn't mean it!" Hikaru argued. "And he didn't hurt Fumiko-chan or Rei-chan or Sera-chan! And since he didn't, I don't think that you should be mad at him forever because he'll say "sorry"!"

"Hikaru-chan," Masaru said quietly. "When do you think he'll ever apologize to you and your friends and to this family without being forced? "I'm sorry" won't mean anything unless he actually means it and isn't forced to say it."

"He will! Nobody is really that mean!"

Masaru opened his mouth as if to say something but shut it and shook his head lightly. "Maybe you're right. But I won't forgive him until he personally comes to the front door and apologizes to all of us without his mother or father or brother around to force him. I really do hope you're right about..." The middle brother trailed off as he stared behind Hikaru. "Satoru."

Hikaru turned around and saw the oldest brother standing in the doorway of the room. "Satoru-oniisama!"

"AH!" Masaru exclaimed in panic. "Oh, I was just here doing my homework. Yep, nothing better than good ol' homework. Um, yeah, and Hikaru-chan was helping me too because she's a really smart kid and I'm not and--"

Satoru blinked as Hikaru smiled at the middle brother's cover-up. "Masaru, I heard some of the conversation you two had."

"Eh?"

"Only the last bit, so don't worry about it if I wasn't supposed to know." Satoru grinned weakly. "Hikaru, are you okay with what happened the past couple of days?"

Hikaru nodded. "Fumiko-chan and Rei-chan and Sera-chan aren't angry or sad or anything. And I'm sure Hidehiro didn't mean what he said or anything! He just doesn't... seem to have any friends, so I'm sure he'll apologize because... nobody likes to be lonely."

"Hm?" Masaru wondered from behind Hikaru. "I know that he failed a couple of grades, but I was sure he had cronies or something. Even if he didn't have any friends, most people would be nice if they didn't have friends... or shy... or something."

"Mother is going to a parent-teacher conference tomorrow to get this all solved," Satoru said. "Hikaru, maybe you could be Hidehiro's friend for a while if Mother finds out that Hidehiro's lack of friends is the case for all of this?"

"Yeah!" Hikaru piped up excitedly.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Satoru-niisan, Hikaru-chan. After what that kid did? Maybe you should wait until he does apologize, Hikaru-chan."

She shook her head as she turned to face Masaru. "I can't! I'd be waiting too long maybe."

Masaru twirled his pencil in his fingers uncomfortably as he glanced from Hikaru to Satoru and back to Hikaru again. He finally shook his head and muttered, "You are too kind sometimes, Hikaru-chan."

"Hikaru, why don't you get Hikari? It's around that time to walk him, and I'll go with you."

Hikaru nodded and ran out of the room, but before she strayed too far, she heard a little bit of the conversation her two older brothers were having.

"Do you really think Hidehiro Akugenta--"

"Satoru-niisan, I really don't think that Hikaru-chan should do that. Maybe Hidehiro _doesn't_ have any friends, and maybe he _did_ fail a couple of grades, but he _cannot_ bully people the way he did. After what he did, it might be a little dangerous for Hikaru-chan to befriend him."

"She can take care of herself."

"I _know_ she can, but what he said to her... what he said about this family... I can't deal with that."

"That doesn't mean that you should've started a fight with him. It wasn't completely his fault; what he said about us is something he used to get back at Hikaru and Kakeru because his brother said it. He doesn't know the meaning of 'bastard,' and somebody taught you the word wrong. Where did you hear your definition of it?" There was a pause. "If you knew the real meaning of it, you wouldn't have overreacted as you did."

"_Overreacted_? Satoru-niisan, what would you have done if you were in my shoes? Just stand there and let that Hidehiro kid insult our family? Just stand there and let him spread bad things about the family?"

"Masaru--"

"Look, I'm supposed to make sure Kakeru-kun doesn't get into anymore trouble than he already is in. Don't tell him what happened today. That threat he made... I'm sure he'll carry it out if he finds out. And at least Hikaru-chan doesn't seem to be blaming herself for something she's not at fault for."

"That's true."

Hikaru resumed running to the backyard to get Hikari.

_They're worried that I'll get angry with myself for Masaru-oniisama and Kakeru-oniisama into trouble? I... I'm not angry with myself, but maybe if I become friends with Hidehiro, there won't be anything to worry about. Tomorrow. Tomorrow at school, I'm going to talk to Hidehiro with Fumiko-chan and Sera-chan and Rei-chan. Everybody needs a friend, even if they are bullies._

To Be Continued


	4. Schooldays

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Four: Schooldays**_

**Bearit's Notes**: Like I promised, this chapter is less angst-ridden. I can't promise humor, and I _can't_ tell you that there _isn't_ any angst. But... this is what I deem a "plot-less" chapter, or in other words, I chose a random day in the life of the Shidou family and wrote about it.

I'm never doing a plot-less... _anything_ ever again.

* * *

"You know, Hikaru-chan," Kakeru said in between bites of his rice, "you really ought to get involved in something after school besides always going to the park with your friends. You really have no hobbies if you get right down to it."

"Kakeru-kun, please don't talk while you're chewing. I can hear the food in your mouth."

"Ah, sorry, Mother!"

Kinoko Shidou smiled to herself as she finished placing two deep-fried shrimps into the lunchbox. It was another dawn, another beginning. Everything was starting out normally save for the bright sun shining on a December morning, and needless to say, Kinoko enjoyed those types of the run-of-the-mill beginnings. It would be cold, yes, but the weather would be nice.

It was going to be another wonderful, routine day.

Of course, for one of her children, the routine day was starting off as terrible as always.

"I'm _late_!" Masaru screamed. "I'm late. I'm late. I'm late. I'm late..."

Kinoko had no need to turn away from the lunch she was preparing for her daughter, for she could picture what Masaru was doing while listening to his footsteps stomping throughout the house. As a mother having to deal with this everyday, she sighed.

"Why did Satoru-niisan leave without me? _Again_?! Why? Why? Why? _Why_...?"

"You're a moron, Masaru!" Kakeru yelled to the bathroom where apparently, judging from the echo of his shouts, Masaru was currently located.

Once Kinoko placed the cookies into the last compartment of the lunchbox, she snapped the lid closed and put the rosy-colored box into a maroon-shaded bag. Color coding the lunchboxes were easy when all four of her children had different favorite colors, after all.

Masaru came thumping into the living room. In response, Kinoko grabbed the orange pouch and left the kitchen, seeing that her second son had immediately regretted procrastinating on finishing his homework.

"Masaru-kun, whoever invented the snooze alarm was a complete idiot, don't you agree?" Kinoko asked coolly, holding out her son's lunch.

"No time for jokes, Mother!" Masaru said, panicking. He looked at his two younger siblings and narrowed his eyes. "And why aren't you two in a hurry?!"

Hikaru only giggled while Kakeru said, "Our school doesn't start until eight thirty. It's only seven fifty. We don't leave for another fifteen minutes."

"And my school doesn't start for another _ten_ minutes!" Masaru buckled his bag and grabbed a piece of toast Kinoko made for such an emergency. "Satoru-niisan's mean! Satoru-niisan is mean and cruel and--"

"Why should he risk being late because you didn't wake up on time?" Kinoko handed Masaru the carrot-colored lunch bag. "Here. Now, ride your bike to school or else you won't have a chance. If I hear that you were late..."

"I won't! I won't! I won't!" Masaru yelped as he grabbed his lunch and ran out the door. "By the way, since it's Wednesday, I won't be home until after seven!"

Kinoko shook her head while Kakeru muttered, "Again, there is a reason why most people don't stay up until midnight doing their homework."

"We can't blame Masaru-oniisama, though," Hikaru pointed out. "After all, he has so many after school classes and clubs to go to."

"That's only on Wednesdays when he's truly busy." Kinoko smiled as she took a seat at the table. "I can only excuse him on days like today since he has his club and both of his after school classes. For the rest of the week, with the exception of Tuesday and Thursday, his has his art class and his drama club. Yesterday and tomorrow he only has his drama club."

That was not all. Masaru was the only child in the family Kinoko would excuse for having bad grades. She knew that it was his nature to be creative and artistic, not practical and scientific. She would only care about Masaru's grades if it were any lower than a fifty. It was far from a passing grade, and she refused for anybody to dub him an illiterate child, for he was actually more intelligent than most children his age.

Satoru, although he was busier than Masaru, had the ambition to support the family in the place of his father Mitsuru, and he was true to that wish. For Satoru's sake, Kinoko wanted him to come home with high scores all the time so that he may find a good, lucrative job once he graduates. This was his last year to prove himself, although he had been successful in the past.

Although Kakeru was an athlete, it was no excuse for below average grades. Where could Kakeru really go in life with his different interests in sports? If he was dedicated to one sport, perhaps he could become a professional, but he was involved with four different sports throughout the year. He started junior high in only a couple more months; once high school rolled around in three years, he would need to find a real career to work for.

As for Hikaru, she had no involvement with anything at school. Kinoko was sure that if Hikaru had not given up on kendo she would be in the kendo club at school and even helping Satoru out, but because of the incident four years ago, Hikaru felt that in order to keep the family together she needed to quit pursuing her dream. Kinoko wasn't at all pleased with that decision, but the fact that Hikaru wanted to become a veterinarian when she grew up eased Kinoko's heart about it.

Since Hikaru wanted to become a sort of a doctor, Kinoko knew it was imperative that she always did well in academics.

However, all of these were things she would never tell anybody, not even to her own husband when he returned.

_If_ he returned, that is.

"Hey, Mother," Kakeru said, setting his empty rice bowl down and picking up his soup, "are you going to come to the basketball game today?"

Kinoko smiled. "I will try to make it. I won't make any promises that I fear I will not be able to keep."

"I understand," Kakeru said. "You're definitely coming, aren't you, Hikaru-chan?"

"Of course!"

"You're my good luck charm, after all! Just make sure that Fumiko doesn't come. She may hinder our chances of winning." Kakeru laughed while Hikaru blinked with confusion. He set the bowl down. "I'm done! Come on, hurry up, Hikaru-chan; we have to leave in ten minutes."

"Ah, you eat too fast, Kakeru-oniisama! It's still only ten minutes!"

_Yes, Kakeru-kun, I know how fragile your heart is to broken promises_, Kinoko closed her eyes. _Mitsuru-san... really scarred you the day you found out... everything. I hope all of your friends and teachers know that when it comes to you, promises should always be kept, for your father made the mistake of missing that detail of your soul._

* * *

The bell rang as soon as Masaru fell into his seat.

"I made it," he panted. _Thank whatever deity exists that I listened to Mother and rode the damn bike. But I still cannot forgive--_

"Good morning, class," the teacher announced as he walked in. "Stand." Masaru gulped so that the teacher would not suspect that he was almost late or would not even believe that he was late. Masaru followed the rest of the teacher's commands with as much confidence as he could muster. "Bow. Sit."

Masaru sighed. _A routine I'm really not quite used to. Mother's right again. Whoever invented the snooze alarm--_

"Please take out your homework from last night."

Masaru's heart skipped a beat. Now came the time when the routine was unbearably familiar. He grabbed his bag and silently took out all of his books and placed them inside of his desk. What followed next was something that only a few of the students were doing; everybody else was so well-organized that they managed to shoot out their assignments in a split second.

Masaru began shuffling through the papers that were jammed in-between the books and other pieces of paper.

"Stupid Satoru-niisan," Masaru found himself mumbling, "he doesn't have to not wait for me or even wait for me to wake up, but he could at least give me a hand to _wake_ me up so I can at least put my math stuff separate from my science crap... stupid, stupid, stupid, mean older brothers."

A shadow hovered over Masaru, and he sheepishly glanced up to see his teacher glaring at him suspiciously. "Good morning," Masaru chirped and stole a quick glance back at his desk. "Ah, you want my homework, don't you, teacher? Um..." _There it is!_ "Here you go!"

The teacher narrowed his eyes as Masaru handed him a paper that appeared to have been crumpled into a ball and straightened out again. Masaru smiled as innocently as he could; maybe he would get lucky and the teacher will accept it today?

Either the teacher was in a good mood or a bad mood, Masaru had a difficult time to tell, but to his surprise, the teacher did accept the paper by snatching it out of his hands and continuing down the aisle.

_I'm probably going to get another 'incomplete_,' Masaru sighed. _I'm going to be bogged down with even more homework during Christmas break, it seems like. But first things first... _Masaru took notice of his orange translucent binder and robbed the desk of it. _I really need to get working on memorizing this last scene; the play is next week!_

The play Masaru held in his hands was a translated version of the English story, "A Christmas Carol." Masaru played the roles of Bob Cratchit and the ghost of Jacob Marley. He had Marley's part down perfectly, for as Kakeru had once teased him, evil was a specialty for Masaru. Cratchit was a bit more difficult since he had a bigger role, and with Masaru helping with the backgrounds for the play, he had no time to even study the last scene for the past couple of days.

He hoped he could get these lines memorized by the Friday following the end of the week.

And saying "Scrooge" by the correct English way rather than the often-used Japanese version was still very difficult for Masaru.

_When I auditioned, I should have picked a part in which nobody said "Scrooge!" _Masaru whined.

"Alright, class, clear off your desks and take out a piece of paper and a pencil," the teacher said. Masaru quickly shoved his binder back into his desk. "We will have a pop quiz on everything that we have learned so far this year."

_Pop quiz?!_

"Why are teachers expecting us to remember all of these little things?" Masaru growled under his breath. "Us teenagers can only take so much information in at once!"

Masaru knew what he had to do and decided that when the time came to apply for a high school, he was going to one that taught exclusively anything artistic. Academic life really did not suit the middle brother of the Shidou family.

* * *

"That's Satoru Shidou? He's even more better looking than you said he was!"

"I told you it would be impossible to describe him with words."

"Oh, but he seems so serious..."

"Well, he is under a lot of stress. Have you heard about his family, yet?"

"About their school and his father? Yes, I have."

"Poor guy. It's a wonder how he manages to never act on his stress--I have never seen him upset before. Of course, I have never seen him anything but serious ever since junior high."

"I suppose that no girl will ever have a chance with him, right?"

Kyousuke Togawajun made a face at the conversation the two girls were having behind him. It wasn't that he was jealous at all of the attention his friend was getting, it was just that he hated to be reminded of the troubles Satoru had with his life. He also had never been fond of gossip, much less eavesdropping onto them, for he always found out things about his fellow classmates that he frankly wished he never knew.

He sighed and took out his lunch from his desk. He looked around the room and saw that his usual group of friends were planning to go outside to eat. However, as always, Satoru was indeed eating alone.

"Kyou-kun!" his friend called from the door. "If we don't hurry, we'll end up eating on the cold ground again!"

"Go on without me," Kyousuke said, waving his hand. "I'll be there as quick as I can."

"Okay!"

As the group left, Kyousuke glanced over his shoulder. _If I can't convince him to eat with us, then I'm just going to eat with him, whether he likes it or not._

"Hey Satoru," he said, turning the desk in front of Satoru's around, "I have a question." He sat. "How do you do it?"

Satoru frowned. "What do you mean?"

"How do you manage to be _perfect_?" Kyousuke plopped his lunch on the desk. "You teach kendo to your father's former students and to new students that hadn't signed up before your father left. You manage to get very good grades on, well, everything single little thing that we do in school. You're obviously athletic, though not as much as your youngest brother, and you are in favor of all of the teachers in the school. What's worse, the girls can't seem to get their minds off you! How do you _do_ it?"

"For the first few," Satoru replied, placing his chopsticks on his desk, "it's a matter of patience and support from my family. I regret that because I'm so busy, I can't see them as much anymore."

"And the girls?" Kyousuke pressed. He knew that Satoru was popular with the girls because he was good looking, had a reserved personality, and always received good grades; those were the things he learned from the gossip he eavesdropped on. However, he wanted Satoru to open up a bit more.

Satoru smiled. "That I don't know."

"Oh, you're really no help." Kyousuke sighed. "But, truth be told, Satoru, you really do need to get a girlfriend. You're the only boy I know who's been through his entire life without going on a single date with anybody, and this is our last year of high school! It might even be a little healthy for your cold attitude."

"I don't have--"

"_Time_, yes, I know," Kyousuke said. "But it's still not good for your soul to have no real close friends, even. We're friends, Satoru, but not quite at the level of _best_ friends. We don't share secrets or anything like that. We don't even confide in each enough; we just _like_ each other. Satoru, you need somebody you can spill your heart out to. It doesn't have to be a girlfriend or anything, just somebody from outside of your family."

Satoru said nothing and frowned, but Kyousuke could feel himself getting studied by the Shidou. The way Satoru narrowed his eyes when he did so was absolutely spooky, but Kyousuke only put his chin onto the palm of his hand and sighed.

"Satoru, if you have somebody you can trust to keep your true feelings covered, you really won't have anything to worry about," he continued. "You won't have any fear or regret in your life. It shouldn't be very difficult to find a candidate since nobody hates you; all of the guys are really envious, though."

"It's the trusting part that's difficult, isn't it?"

"You might say that, which is why I think you should have found a best friend even before your father left."

A smile reappearing on his face, Satoru nodded his head. "You are a good friend, Kyousuke-san."

Kyousuke shook his head. He lost the battle; he knew that. Satoru was the type of person who hated to bring his troubles on other people's shoulders, but Kyousuke knew that he had to if he wanted to save himself from not only stress but loneliness. Such a thing had always bothered Kyousuke about Satoru, and it was only until now, after two years of knowing that his friend was missing something in his life and a year of realizing of what it was, that Kyousuke suggested it to him.

He was not going to give up, even if Kyousuke had to make himself be the one Satoru spilled his heart and soul to.

"I still don't know how you do it," he said as a verbal way of admitting his defeat. "You're perfect. Say, do you want to come outside and eat with me and the guys? I'm afraid that if I leave you alone, those girls over there are going to introduce that new girl to you, and you won't have much peace."

Satoru nodded. "Thank you, Kyousuke-san. Are you sure your friends won't mind?"

"Oh, they won't care. Actually, I think they'll be happy to have you there," said Kyousuke. "Come on; let's go before it gets far too into lunch period that we won't have enough time to eat by the time we get there."

Of course, Kyousuke reminded himself, if Satoru found a colleague outside Kyousuke's circle of friends, Kyousuke knew that trusting that person would be the hardest thing he would ever have to do. And, in secret, Kyousuke hoped that Satoru would soon find that he was all the willing to listen if he would give him the chance.

* * *

Fumiko Tachiiri was almost near out of breath even before she began sprinting towards the school's gymnasium. Not only was she lectured by her teacher about sleeping in class, she was scolded by her guidance counselor about having terrible grades. She knew that her mother was going to hear of this, and when she did, Fumiko knew that her fun in life would be stolen for a month or so.

Even so, she was still running late. The basketball game started at three-thirty, so she only had five minutes to get to the gym once the elders were finished with her. By the time she finished packing her backpack up with her homework as quickly as she could, she only had three minutes left. The only way she could get to the game in time was if she ran.

Running was not Fumiko's forte.

Actually, Fumiko hated anything athletic. Whenever she hated something, she was terrible at it.

"Sheesh," she grumbled in between breaths. "You would think that teachers would think about after-school activities when they yell at students, but no..." She caught sight of an older boy in front of her and sighed in relief. She wasn't the only one who was going to be late. "Hidehiro!"

The boy turned, a little surprised. "Tachiiri-san."

"You can call me Fumiko, you dumbo," she said, ceasing her jog when she finally caught up to him. "Are you going to Kakeru's basketball game?"

"Hikaru-san wants me to, so I am," Hidehiro replied cautiously. "Do you think Kakeru-san would mind?"

Fumiko laughed. "Of course not. You know Kakeru loves the attention he gets whenever he has one of these things. The only reason I'm going is because, well, if I don't go, I'd be the only girl in school not going since Hikaru, Rei, and Sera are going to be there, too. Which reminds me," she said, grabbing Hidehiro's arm, "we have to get going or else us two be stuck sitting next to each other!"

_And the rumors will fly_, Fumiko thought with disgust as she flew towards the gymnasium again.

It had been two years since that day. Two years since Hidehiro Akugenta had "bullied," by the words of Hikaru's brothers, the four girls, lied to the teachers to get Kakeru in trouble, and angered Masaru to the extent that both of the boys were suspended from school for a couple of days. Yet, Hikaru never hated Hidehiro and instead befriended him.

Fumiko had been surprised at how right Hikaru was in her judgment. Slowly Hidehiro had warmed up to Hikaru's kindness since he had indeed no friends, and Hidehiro transformed from a rash, conceited boy to a shy and self-conscious one. It was odd that Hikaru had that sort of "power"--she could always find something good in even the most evil person.

Sera, like Hikaru, easily befriended Hidehiro once she saw his real personality. Rei stayed distant, and she still refused to look at Hidehiro. Masaru had already gone on to the junior high school by the time Hikaru finally changed Hidehiro, but Kakeru still was not exactly trusting of the boy; it was obvious that he felt no hatred towards him, but it was unclear whether he considered Hidehiro a friend or a mere acquaintance. Fumiko, on the other hand, went along with the plan. If Hikaru wanted to make a friend out of Hidehiro, that was fine, as long as he no longer pulled a stunt like back in the second grade.

"Fumiko-chan!" Hikaru yelled from the gymnasium's door, waving her hand. Fumiko returned the greeting while behind her, Hidehiro grumbled.

Rei, apparently ignoring the fact that Hidehiro was around, called, "Hurry up or else the game will start!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" When Fumiko finally reached the group, she pulled Hidehiro in front of her and said, "See? Even when I stopped to drag along Hidehiro-kun, I _still_ managed to make it on time."

"Barely." Kakeru poked his head out with a frown pasted on his face. "Would you guys hurry up and come inside? The game's going to start and it's freezing out here!"

"Well, you're the one wearing a tank top and shorts," Fumiko counterattacked.

"Hey, _I'm_ the star of the basketball team!"

"Oh, so sure of yourself, are you?"

"Everybody else seems to think so--"

"Shidou-kun! Hurry up and get in here; the game's about to start!" a boy yelled from inside the gym.

Kakeru called back, "Okay, okay!" He turned back to them. "Get inside already before you catch a cold; I saved you guys a seat at the top row. You're going to have to end up sitting next to Miyuki-san and her friends, though. I'm _so_ sorry, Fumiko."

She narrowed her eyes. "No need to be so sarcastic."

It wasn't that Fumiko didn't get along with Miyuki and her friends, it was just that Miyuki and her friends worshipped Kakeru. Fumiko was always annoyed by the fact that Kakeru had a fan club, since she really failed to see why everybody was so impressed by him. Boys wanted to be him and girls adored him; he was Satoru's shadow, except more athletic and sans the reserved personality. However, a fan club was just going a little too far.

After the door was closed and the six were inside the gymnasium, Fumiko noticed how crowded the place was. Every girl she knew in the higher half of the elementary school was there as well as some parents of the team and friends of the team members. And of course, there were also some supporters for the other team on the other side, but it was not as full as the home side was--nothing new, of course.

Fumiko sighed, "This is reminding me too much of my cousin's baseball games--and he's in junior high!"

"So, see you guys after the game!" Kakeru said as he ran over to the bench.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Fumiko yelled. "Where are we supposed to sit?!"

Sera tapped Fumiko's shoulder and pointed to a section of the top row where nobody was sitting. "There. That's where Miyuki-san is, anyway."

As the group rushed up to the top bleachers, Fumiko rolled her eyes. "What do you know? It's just like Sera to notice that kind of stuff."

She hurried up the steps to catch up with her friends. Right before she reached the top bench, a choir of girls shouted, "You can do it, Kakeru-sama!"

Fumiko clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I just don't _get_ it!"

* * *

By a very unwelcome turn of events, night and rain fell simultaneously. Masaru, who had to ride his bike through that and the wintry temperature of December, was very upset by the time he returned home. Upset, hungry, wet, and loaded with homework.

Having his little sister's dog knock him over in the mud before he reached the front door really helped none, either.

Before he went into his own room to change out of his school uniform and into warmer and dryer clothes, he trudged wearily to Hikaru's room. He held no grudge against her (how could he ever be angry with his cute little sister, after all?), but he wanted--no, he _needed_ to know something that he considered very important to make his day better. She was the only person within the family who could answer such a question that was burning within him.

Masaru slid open the rice paper door slowly but with enough noise for Hikaru to hear. She had been sitting at her desk, apparently working on her homework, but she caught notice of Masaru and smiled.

"Welcome home, Masaru-oniisama," she chirped. Her grin faded when she noticed water dripping from his body. "Masaru-oniisama...?"

He glared at the big ball of fur resting at the foot of Hikaru's chair. There was the trouble. How did it manage to get back into the house so fast?

"Tell me, Hikaru-chan." Masaru tried to speak as calmly as he could. "Did you take your dog on a walk after school?"

"Satoru-oniisama did; I was with Kakeru-oniisama at his basketball game today."

_Oh yeah. That was today, wasn't it?_

"I see." He nodded. "Did you feed--" _Can't call the dog "it" around Hikaru-chan, you dumbass._ "--him?"

"Yep!"

Masaru narrowed his eyes, his gaze never lifting off the dog, who looked inquisitively back into Masaru's eyes. "I see. So... do you have any explanation as to why he tackled me just a few minutes ago? In the _rain_? Straight into the _mud_?"

By the tone of her voice, Masaru could tell that Hikaru was trying to keep a nice atmosphere--with failure on Masaru's part. He was still deadpan. "He probably missed you, Masaru-oniisama."

After a moment of murky silence, he grunted and closed the door. "Sorry to bug you, Hikaru-chan. I was just wondering."

Masaru slogged to his room. He carried no thoughts or emotions. After all, his day had been just fine until after his piano lessons when he discovered the rain that had soaked his bicycle to the core. He had been lucky that he had carried his schoolbag into his piano teacher's house, otherwise, tomorrow would have been hellish as he tried to explain to all of his teachers what had happened.

After Masaru slipped on some dry, casual clothes, he finally said, "I _will_ be going to Gashitsu Art Academy when I apply for a high school."

"Good luck with Mother agreeing to that!"

Masaru slowly swiveled his head towards the door. There Kakeru stood, arms crossed with a small smirk. "What do you want, Kakeru-kun?"

"Oh, just wondering how your day went after you woke up late."

_Temper control. No yelling at Kakeru-kun. No yelling at Kakeru-kun. No accusing Satoru-niisan. No accusing Satoru-niisan. No cursing out the teachers. No cursing out the teachers. No complaints about the weather. No complaints about the weather. No insulting the dog. No insulting the dog. Temper control._

_It _is_ a normal Wednesday, after all._

"Just dandy," Masaru spat and stormed towards the kitchen.

To Be Continued


	5. Of the Strong-Willed

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Five: Of the Strong-Willed**_

**Bearit's Notes**: We are so damn close to the beginning of the MKR series. In fact, the sixth chapter (which is already written and will be up in about a week to two weeks) takes place between the first and second season, and the seventh chapter takes place at the end of the manga. And come about ninth chapter or so, the people of Cephiro and Autozam will show up.

Oh, by the way. Foreshadowing is fun, don't you agree?

* * *

_February 25th, 1992_

_To Miss Hikaru Shidou:_

_Congratulations! You have been accepted into San'iku Academy for Talented Girls because of your fine talent in kendo. The term will begin at the beginning of April. Please be sure to buy your school uniform before the 25th of March. We are honored to have you on our campus._

Hikaru smiled. Now she could attend the same junior high and high school as the rest of her friends, and her brothers would be pleased with this news. She was sure of that. After moping about it for a week, Kakeru finally decided that it was best (though he never did say why), and Masaru had been supportive from the beginning. Satoru, however, wanted to make absolute sure that this was what she wanted.

It really was, but at first only because Fumiko, Sera, and Rei had been accepted. Later, she felt that she should attend the school, but she could not pinpoint exactly why. Masaru thought that it was because it was her heart's desire. Kakeru took it as a sign that she should take up kendo once again.

She hadn't agreed to it at first, but...

_"But, Kakeru-oniisama, if Father comes back and I beat him again..."_

_"Oh, don't worry about it! I'm sure he's not _that_ dishonorable as to abandon us again!"_

After much convincing from Kakeru and eventually Satoru, she decided to train herself once again. She only had had a month before the testing was to take place, after all. Amazingly enough, she had managed to defeat Satoru.

Fear had struck her immediately. After only two weeks of sparring against her eldest brother, she defeated him. This boded poorly for the sake of her father staying home when he returned home; he would leave again if she beat him, wouldn't he? This time, Kakeru may hate her--his hatred for their father seemed to have lessened.

Yet, once the Academy received word that Hikaru managed to defeat a full-grown man now and back when she was in kindergarten, it seemed as if they had no need to test her.

This letter was proof.

"San'iku Academy," Hikaru breathed, her smile never wavering as she read and reread the letter.

* * *

"YES!"

Masaru and Kakeru cheered wildly in the living room once Hikaru ran off to tell Satoru the good news. Masaru tossed his script up in the air, and Kakeru stood on top of the small table, his fist punching the booklet Masaru had thrown. The bundled pile of scripts slammed against the wall, but neither brother paid any concern to it.

"I _knew_ she could make it into San'iku Academy!"

"Now there's _no_ chance that any boy would dare date Hikaru-chan!"

The boys laughed menacingly. Kakeru hopped off the table in fear that his mother would walk into the room, but his grin seemed to have been pasted on with super glue. It was the best thing that had happened to him since Valentine's Day.

In which, by the way, he received more chocolates than all of the other boys in his school.

But his little sister getting into an all-girls' school was better than all the chocolates in the world.

"Any boy who wants to date Hikaru-chan, well, let's see him try to be accepted by her! Surely she wouldn't date some random boy off the street!" Kakeru said, crossing his arms determinedly.

Masaru chuckled. "That and the mere fact that you won't get in trouble every time she interacts with any guy other than Yuujirou and Hidehiro, eh, Kakeru?"

The younger brother flinched, but his smirk remained. "Shut up."

"Come on, Kakeru," Masaru said as he sat down back down at the table. "You really need to learn to trust Hikaru-chan. She can take care of herself, you know."

Kakeru slumped back down into his seat and sighed. "I _know_."

"You know it, but you don't believe it," said Masaru. "She's starting junior high next month--and San'iku Academy is on the outskirts of Tokyo."

Kakeru crossed his arms atop the table and scowled. His little sister's junior high school--and high school--is that far away from home? "She's going to take the _train_?"

"And bus," Masaru said. "Could you give me back my script?"

"And bus." Kakeru reached behind him to grab the stapled booklet. "And _bus_." He handed the script to Masaru. "She's going to take the train _and_ the bus. For how long, do you think?"

"Oh wait," Masaru said. "Maybe she'll just have to take the bus. I'll have to look at the bus schedules on Monday." Kakeru glowered. When Masaru caught his eye, he smiled and waved his hand. "Oh, don't worry, Kakeru! I'll probably end up riding the bus with her anyway."

Kakeru sighed as he stood. "Fine, fine."

His stomach demanding food, Kakeru marched around the table to get to the kitchen. But as he walked past Masaru, his older brother's voice brought him to a halt. "Kakeru, why did you encourage Hikaru-chan to take up kendo again?"

"What?" Kakeru asked, turning around only to see Masaru's back.

Masaru continued, "Why did you tell Hikaru-chan that it was okay to take up kendo again?"

Kakeru sighed. "San'iku Academy is for girls who excel the best at a specific subject. Hikaru is best at kendo. It only makes sense."

"But she gave up kendo for Father, remember?"

"I _know_," Kakeru growled.

Masaru glanced behind his shoulder, his eyes curious yet demanding. "Kakeru, do you not want Father to stay when he comes back?"

Kakeru trembled; it was the real reason why he ceased the opportunity for Hikaru to become involved with kendo again, but he could not allow anybody to know. "Of course. But what does that have to do with this?"

Masaru stood and walked to Kakeru, placing his hand on Kakeru's shoulders. "Kakeru... you do know that she managed to defeat Satoru-niisan, right?"

"Yeah. So?" Kakeru replied defiantly. "She got into the Academy because she did, didn't she?"

Masaru shook his head. "But Kakeru, why did you do such a thing?"

"I wanted her to get into San'iku Academy. Father has absolutely nothing to do with this," Kakeru said. He stepped out of Masaru's grasp and turned back towards the kitchen. "After six years, I don't think he has anything left to do with this family."

"Kakeru!"

"That's all I have to say."

Kakeru stepped into the kitchen.

"Kakeru," Masaru said softly, "would you still not care if Father died now?"

Kakeru froze. That conversation from six years back was coming back to haunt him. He clenched his fists and teeth. "No. I wouldn't care at all. And after all this time without hearing anything from him, he probably _is_ dead."

* * *

"This?" Fumiko stared in disbelief at the outfit the clerk held up. "_This_ is the uniform for San'iku Academy?"

"It's not bad, Fumiko-chan," Hikaru said.

Kyousuke laughed. "It's actually really cute!"

"Cute?" Fumiko growled. "_Cute_?!"

Satoru smiled with amusement.

The uniform had a white blouse with an inflated bow near the collar. The overcoat was maroon and long-sleeved, but it only reached the tip of the skirt. The skirt itself was a dirty gray. A thin red stripe streaked near the hem. The socks, which lay on top of the counter with the shoes, were knee high and gray, also with a red stripe at the top. The shoes were just plain, black dress shoes.

"Would you like to try it on?" the clerk asked with a bright smile.

Hikaru perked up immediately. "Yeah! Come on, Fumiko-chan!"

The clerk smiled and led the girls to the dressing rooms, with the uniform in hand. Hikaru and Fumiko were about the same size, so she would not have to worry about getting another size quite yet. Of course, the girls were still growing, so they might have to get different sizes as the years go on.

Kyousuke turned to Satoru, a smile still pasted on both of the men's faces. "I don't think your sister will ever get out of her cute phase," he said. "At least, not while she's friends with Fumiko."

"If Kakeru ever heard you say that, you know how he'll react."

Kyousuke chuckled. "Even your little brother is cute. Not many older brothers who are close to their little sisters as Kakeru is to Hikaru is that overprotective of her. Most siblings fight day and night."

"That's right," Satoru said with a sigh, "you haven't seen Masaru and Kakeru put in the same room. They do tend to... disagree on a lot of issues."

Kyousuke rolled his eyes mockingly. "Brothers."

Satoru looked at Kyousuke with an amused twinkle in his eye. "You don't have any brothers or sisters, Kyousuke-san."

"If you count the guys, I do," Kyousuke said proudly. Suddenly, he frowned and looked away from Satoru. They were finally alone. "You know, Satoru... remember what I advised you? About finding somebody to, well, spill out your heart if you were ever troubled?"

"Kyousuke-san..."

"You still haven't gotten a girlfriend, after all those admirers you had back in high school," Kyousuke said. He clenched his hands into a fist. "So... I'm just wondering..."

Kyousuke trailed off. He had no clue how to put into words his feelings for Satoru's well-being. Not only his well-being, but for his sheer life and emotions and... Satoru.

"Kyousuke-san, I already have you," Satoru said reassuringly. He placed a hand on Kyousuke's shoulder.

He glanced at Satoru in surprise. "But..."

"You've offered to help me with the dojo," Satoru continued. "You can almost read my emotions perfectly, and you've managed your time to help me get over all of my stress. You even came shopping for school supplies with us."

Kyousuke looked sheepishly back at the ground. "But I--"

"You once told me, back in high school, that we were close friends but not at the level of best friends. Kyousuke-san, I refuse to believe that. Of course we're best friends. I wish I knew how to pay you back for your kindness."

"Oh, when it comes to true friendship, you don't need to pay me back!" Kyousuke said with a laugh. This was good and everything, but he knew that he didn't deserve this. "I'm just happy that you're thankful for me--my help."

_And yet, if you really considered me to be your best friend_, Kyousuke thought, _I wish that you would open up some more. I want to know your true feelings, Satoru. I really do._

Fumiko grunted heavily as she trudged back to Kyousuke and Satoru. "Cute. _Cute_!"

Kyousuke jolted out of his personal anguish. "What's the matter, Fumiko?"

"That lady--" She pointed to the general direction of the dressing rooms. "--said that I looked cute in that... that... uniform thing! Cute!"

"What's wrong with cute?"

"Don't even get me started, Togawajun-san!"

"Is Hikaru almost finished?" Satoru asked.

Fumiko turned to him and pouted. "That lady girl is just all over Hikaru about how cute she looks. Poor Hikaru. She doesn't deserve that torture."

Kyousuke laughed. "Okay, okay," he said in an attempt to bring Fumiko into the bright mood that she had been in when the trip started. "How about after we pay for this, we eat lunch and do a little 'fun' shopping. Any store you want; I'll buy you each something."

Fumiko stared at Kyousuke skeptically. Then she sighed and waved her hand. "Fine, fine. Hikaru!" she called, running back over to the dressing rooms. "Hurry _up_!"

_"Kyousuke-san, I already have you."_ Satoru had said.

Kyousuke sighed. _I wish you meant what I want you to mean._

* * *

"Hello?"

"HI--DE--HI--_RO_!"

Hidehiro yelped and pulled the phone away from his ear. He could still hear the voice of his friend on the other end, frantically saying something. Hidehiro couldn't tell if there was happiness or anger in his voice.

"Hikaru-chan made it in! Hikaru-chan made it in!" the voice on the other end whooped.

He tentatively placed the phone against his ear. "Ka... Kakeru-san?"

"Hidehiro! Did you hear me?" Kakeru cried. "Hikaru-chan... made it in to... San'iku Academy! San'iku! Hikaru-chan! To San'iku Academy! WOO!"

Hidehiro laughed softly, but the shock still had yet to wear off. "She... she did?"

"We got the letter just yesterday!"

Hidehiro frowned. "And you're still this excited?"

"She got her uniform today! She's going to San'iku Academy! San'iku! An all-girl's school! San'iku! Hikaru-chan's going to San'iku Academy for Girls! No, wait. That's San'iku Academy for _Talented_ Girls! She's got skills! She's talented! Ha! She really _is_ my sister!"

A smile reappeared on Hidehiro's face. He shook his head. "Kakeru-san, do you think you're going a little overboard with this?"

"Of course not! Of _course_ not!" Kakeru paused. In a more restrained tone, he said, "She's going to an all-girl's school. You do know what that means, right?"

"Um..."

"No boyfriends for her!" Kakeru said proudly. "That's good. That's very good. Normal boys aren't worthy of my little sister. Oh no, no normal boys for her. First, I'll have to challenge him. I still have my kendo skills, so it'll be okay. Then, if he somehow manages to defeat me, we must exchange diaries! Ha! And then... and then... oh, hell. Hikaru-chan's not going to get a boyfriend unless I know him first."

There was a short pause. Hidehiro wondered if he should make a joke. Kakeru would either take it too seriously or understand it.

Hidehiro decided to take his chances.

"So, it would be okay if I decided to go out with her?"

Another pause. Hidehiro twirled his fingers into the spiral telephone cord. _Did I just make a mistake?_

"Eh," Kakeru said. "Why not? You're worthy enough, I suppose."

_Is that a joke? _

"You do realize it was a joke, right?" Hidehiro asked.

Another pause.

"Oh. Duh me!" Kakeru laughed.

Hidehiro chuckled nervously. "You know, back in elementary school, I would have been surprised to hear you say that."

"Back in elementary school, I wouldn't even have said it!"

"Exactly."

Kakeru whistled. "Times have changed, haven't they? I mean, back when you were in second grade and I was in fourth, we hated each other. Or did I only hate you? I was surprised to see Hikaru-chan forgive you so easily and quickly."

"So was I."

"Hidehiro, sheesh, I should have said this a long time ago," Kakeru said. "But I'm so sorry."

Hidehiro frowned. "For what?"

"For not understanding. I can only imagine how it would have been like if I had been dropped two grades. Well, okay, not really. Mother would have killed me first. But that's besides the point. I mean, getting teased by every single person in the school? That must have been harsh."

Hidehiro shook his head. "That didn't mean I had the right to pick on anybody."

"Hidehiro..."

"At least I'm catching up now, right?" Hidehiro said. He decided he would rather not talk about it. "I've now only dropped one grade. A fourteen year old in seventh grade instead of a fourteen year old in sixth grade. All thanks to Hikaru-san."

"Hey, where would we be without her?" Kakeru asked warmly. "Oh, crap. I have to go. Masaru wants the phone. I'll talk to you in school tomorrow?"

Hidehiro nodded. "Sure. I'll see you!"

"Bye!"

Hidehiro hung up. Hikaru had made it into San'iku Academy, the campus for girls with extraordinary talents. Fumiko, Rei, and Sera were going as well.

If Hidehiro hadn't made good friends with Kakeru and Yuujirou, he would have felt lonely. After all, Hikaru was the first person who opened up to him since he stayed held back in second grade for two years. With her and her friends' friendships, Hidehiro found himself passing all of his elementary school courses. In fifth grade, the teachers decided to put him in the sixth grade. That was as far as he was going to go, he knew that much, but he knew that without Hikaru, he couldn't have done it.

She deserved to go to San'iku Academy for Talented Girls if that was what she really wanted. After all, she was the kindest person Hidehiro had yet to meet.

* * *

After Kakeru handed the phone to Masaru, he wandered into the heart of the Shidou Kendo School. The dojo that his father had left behind for Satoru to handle.

The room was dark, illuminated only by the moonlight and lights of his home. Barely, Kakeru could distinguish the wooden practice sword racks and the scrolls with delicately painted Chinese characters. The words "Lion Shrine" hung on the wall in front of the dojo--Kakeru only knew it because he had been in here many times when he was younger. In fact, "shi" and "dou" were the first two kanji letters he ever learned.

His father taught him that.

The following kanji he learned were sober, tender, flight, and light. Those were the kanji that hung near the corners of the dojo.

Kakeru grabbed a wooden sword from the rack and began muttering the lessons that his father taught to his brothers and sister and to the students of the kendo school.

"Sober: one must take serious judgment before making any decisions."

He swung the sword to his left and took a step.

"Tender: one must love his family and peers."

He spun on his heel and slammed the sword on top of mid-air.

"Flight: one must allow his spirit to soar."

His grip on the handle tightened. He frowned.

"Light," said Kakeru. He fell to his knees and dropped the sword in front of him. "Light: one must... no. I can't! I _can't_!"

Kakeru had broken most of the values of the Shidou family. One must take serious judgment before making any decisions? He had been rash in declaring hatred for his father. Before thinking, he had threatened Hidehiro back in fourth grade. He would say things without taking into consideration how others would feel.

One must love his family and peers. He still hated his father. At one point, he hated Hidehiro.

One must allow his spirit to soar... Kakeru knew that because he let himself do that, he went against sober and tender. His spirit flew everywhere he went. It was the only lesson that he still followed. Masaru would say because it was his nature: his name meant flight.

Satoru was sober.

Masaru was tender.

The light lesson was the most important one of all--it carried two lessons. Forgiveness and will. One must always forgive.

Hikaru was the light.

"How can I ever forgive you, Father?" Kakeru growled. He glowered at the sword in front of him. "How can I ever even begin to forgive you for what you've done?"

He looked up. He could see the full moon. The light. Kakeru shook his head, remembering why Hikaru had refused to take up kendo again at first. She wanted their father to stay if he returned. But Kakeru had told her that it didn't matter; he wouldn't leave again if he truly loved the family.

Kakeru really meant that he had no intentions of letting Hikaru fight their father again.

He was going to do it.

And he was going to defeat him.

* * *

Hikaru gazed at the intricate building with awe. Behind a beautiful fountain with lions and dragons sprouting water stood a structure that resembled much like a church. It had rose thorns carved delicately into the frames of the doors and windows and across the edges of the walls. Near the top of the building was a round glass-stained window. The design was school's emblem: a burning heart with a sword piercing through the top.

"This is so cool!" squealed Rei from beside Hikaru.

"It is one of the best schools in the nation," Sera said.

Hikaru couldn't peel her eyes away from the main building of the school. "San'iku Academy..."

"OH!" Fumiko groaned from behind them. Only then did Hikaru turn around. She was met by her friend's exasperated expression with a pamphlet in her hand. "First these weird uniforms and now this?!"

"What's wrong, Fumiko?" Sera asked.

Fumiko shoved the open pamphlet into Sera's face. "The field trips. Look at the field trips."

Sera read the paper carefully. Rei peeked over Sera's shoulder while Hikaru looked at the two curiously. _Why is Fumiko-chan upset for? We don't get field trips?_

Sera glanced up from the pamphlet. "I don't see anything wrong with the field trips. In our second year of high school we're going to Europe for a month and in third year of high school we're going to America for two weeks."

"America?" Hikaru asked curiously.

"I'm not talking about the high school field trips," Fumiko said, pointing at a certain line in the pamphlet. "Look at the junior high school ones!"

"Our first year, this year, we're going to Sunshine 60," Sera read, "and in our second year--"

"In our second year, we're going to _Tokyo Tower_!" Fumiko exclaimed. "What kind of field trip is that? I've been to Tokyo Tower five times in my life already! I don't want to go there for a field trip! What a waste! Thank God that they're making up for it by taking us on a trip to Fuji-san during our third year and during high school other countries! But _Tokyo Tower_?"

Hikaru giggled. "You never know, Fumiko-chan. Tokyo Tower just might be fun."

To Be Continued


	6. The Love of a Shidou

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Six: The Love of a Shidou**_

**Bearit's Notes**: The last scene I didn't write out completely because, well, if you've seen and/or read Magic Knight Rayearth 2, then there really is no need to. Oh, and I lied last chapter. The people of Cephiro and Autozam won't show up for the first time in the ninth chapter. Their first appearance is in the _eighth_ chapter. The family just won't meet them until the ninth chapter.

And the deal between Kyousuke and Satoru? Well...

* * *

The small digital clocked blinked to five o'clock. Masaru quickly took a peek at it from the corner of his eyes before going back to the small booklet he held in his hand.

It wasn't a script. Before the drama teacher could let Masaru take a part in the next production _Hamlet_, he had to take a test on Shakespeare. Masaru hadn't taken an interest in Shakespeare up until this point--English was confusing enough, so why would he want to study Old English?--but he wanted to be in as many plays as he possibly could to get a good career in acting.

Masaru, though at the age of nineteen, didn't know what exactly he wanted to do once he graduated from the college campus of Gashitsu Art Academy. He at least knew that he wanted to act. Painting and playing the piano and trumpet (which he had only just started) were merely hobbies. Acting was his true passion, but he didn't know whether to take up "standard" acting--soap operas, movies, musicals, television programs--or voice acting for animation.

So he was taking classes for both paths.

As a matter of fact, he already landed a part in the professional musical, _The Wizard of Oz_, in Shinjuku. He played the part of the Scarecrow. Kakeru constantly mocked it, exclaiming to Masaru, "It fits you perfectly! If you only had a brain!" before Masaru smacked a rolled packet of paper across the back of his little brother's head.

In the drama club, he was auditioning for another Shakespeare play. It was a simpler production, one that everybody knew. _Romeo and Juliet_. Masaru doubted that he could win his desired role--Mercutio--as easily as he always did since he was already studying to be in "Hamlet" and was getting paid to be in _The Wizard of Oz_. Too much to memorize in so little time.

But hey, Masaru figured, professionals often participated in many plays at once. This was nothing!

Then again, professionals weren't still in school.

Oh how dandy.

At least he was getting a ton of extra credit for being in a professional production. And despite what Kakeru thought, Masaru _can_ sing and dance. How else would he have had a major role in a musical?

"Shakespeare wrote in a style called 'Iambic Pentameter,'" Masaru mumbled. "Each of his line had ten syllables and five beats... gah, this is more difficult than a haiku!"

"I'm home."

"Welcome home, Hikaru!" Masaru called.

He tilted his head at the book and continued reading. He stopped after a few lines and mumbled, "We're not even giving the play in English. Why do I need to know this stuff?"

Masaru sighed and threw the book behind his back. "Okay then!"

He picked up the next booklet. A script.

"Katsumi is going to kill me if she hears that I've been working on _Wizard of Oz_ again." Masaru set the script to the side. "Pissed off women are too scary to take chances with. Mercutio, your role is mine if Katsumi made it in."

Although his audition for _Romeo and Juliet _wasn't going to take place until the end of the following week, Katsumi had auditioned for the role of Lady Capulet and earned it. Actually, the entire reason why Masaru wanted to try out for the play was simply because of Katsumi. It's not that she wanted Masaru to be a part of it, but thanks to Kakeru, Masaru thought she was going for the role of Juliet. In that case, Masaru wanted Romeo. He had no intentions for any other boy to kiss his girlfriend but himself!

Masaru found out later that when Kakeru said 'that Capulet girl' he meant Juliet's mother, not Juliet. Juliet's father had already been cast. Masaru still wanted to be in the play, so he tried out for what seemed like to be the most fun part: Mercutio, Romeo's best friend.

The one who had probably the best line in the entire play: "A plague on both your houses!"

Masaru really loved saying that.

When Katsumi heard that Masaru was trying out for Mercutio, she warned him that after being in _The Wizard of Oz_, he should not be a part of anymore plays for another year. When she heard that they hadn't made it to the memorization stage (the play was to take place exactly a year from this point), she urged him to concentrate more on _Romeo and Juliet_.

She was not pleased at all when he told her that he was studying to be in _Hamlet_, but her anger alleviated when she realized that he had to learn about Shakespeare.

"Gives you a better chance to get in _Romeo and Juliet_," she had said.

Masaru did have some eyes set for auditioning for professional animation that was coming out, but his teachers, while encouraging him to try out for _The Wizard of Oz_, drew the line at voice acting. He needed to graduate first; he was still considered an amateur.

"Masaru-niisama?"

Masaru looked over his shoulder. Hikaru stood in the doorway, her face downcast. Masaru frowned.

"Yeah, Hikaru?"

"Um... is... Satoru-niisama around?"

"He's teaching a class right now," said Masaru. "What's wrong? Didn't you go on that field trip to Tokyo Tower today?"

Hikaru nodded slowly, but her eyes did not lift from the ground. "Yeah. But nothing's... nothing's wrong."

Masaru narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe that. Did I give you enough money this morning?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't run out?"

Hikaru shifted awkwardly. "I ran out of one hundred yen coins. Kakeru-niisama was right about the binoculars."

Masaru grinned only slightly. "Sounds like you enjoyed yourself. But are you sure that nothing's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Hikaru said. "I'll... just talk to Satoru-niisama... later... maybe."

Masaru frowned. "Hikaru, is there anything you could talk to me about? I'm your older brother too."

"N-no, it's not important," Hikaru said, snapping her head up. The smile she failed to make convincing was illuminated by her bloodshot eyes. Masaru opened his mouth to say something, but Hikaru continued before he could. "I, um, have homework to do."

She walked away, leaving Masaru gaping.

Masaru stood. His plays could wait. The kendo class could wait. Hikaru could not.

* * *

As soon as break time was called, all of the students huddled into their own groups. It was the normal; the three girls would start talking about their classes while the boys divided into three little groups--the 'cooler,' older ones, the ones who often ranked the smartest--and the most mature--in their classes, and a couple of 'loner' type kids who often stayed silent throughout class anyway. The 'loners' were the first to leave the dojo for the restrooms and water fountain. Following were the girls and "cool" boys, and finally, only a minute later, the smart kids departed.

Satoru and Kyousuke were the only two left.

"Not bad for an intermediate class," Kyousuke said. He stretched his arms behind his backs and yawned. "Another half hour of the class to go."

Satoru nodded but said nothing. He knelt on the ground and closed his eyes.

"Satoru," Kyousuke said. Satoru heard him sit next to him, but he knew that Kyousuke would not practice the breathing technique. He wanted to talk. "Tomorrow, before the advanced classes start, let's go do something. Something fun. I don't know of anything that we would both enjoy from the top of my head but..."

Satoru sighed. Kyousuke was asking for advice. "Kyousuke-san, anything you want to do would be fine."

Kyousuke groaned. "You _always_ say that. We both need to have fun for once."

Satoru shook his head. He normally enjoyed everything Kyousuke set out to do, so he meant the words he said. Of course, Satoru never had any suggestions except for one: hiking. The only time they had for hiking was during the summer on Sundays. It was spring, and springtime was too hectic for the Shidou Kendo School for the two to do anything that would last any more than a quarter of the day.

"I always enjoy what we do."

"If you do, you need to express it more often," Kyousuke said. "I'm starting to feel apathy from you. But fine. We can... oh, good evening, Masaru!"

Satoru opened his eyes. Sure enough, standing in the courtyard doorway, was Satoru's younger brother with a worrisome shine in his eyes.

"Masaru?"

Masaru peered sheepishly around the dojo. None of the students had come back yet; there was still two minutes to spare.

"Break time?" asked Masaru. Satoru nodded. "That's good. Satoru-niisan, Hikaru needs to talk to you. Now."

"Hikaru?"

Masaru nodded. "I know you're in the middle of a class right now, but it seemed really, really important. She looked upset. She _needs_ to talk to you."

Satoru sighed. He knew what he had to do.

"Don't worry about it, Satoru," Kyousuke said with a grin. "I'll handle the kids until you get back."

Satoru smiled. "Thank you, Kyousuke-san."

He stood and walked out of the dojo through the courtyard door. Masaru trailed behind him.

"She just got home," he said. "She's probably in her room. I tried to talk to her, but she didn't seem to want to talk to _me_. I mean, I understand why you, but..."

"It's okay, Masaru," said Satoru. "If she wants to talk, then we'll talk. Don't you have plays to be working on?"

"Ah... yeah," Masaru said sheepishly. "Good luck!"

Masaru ran back to his room just as Satoru found the door that led to Hikaru's room. It was unlocked.

The room was dim with only the setting sun as the light. Satoru glanced around the room but couldn't find his little sister anywhere.

"Hikaru?" he called.

Silence.

Satoru frowned. She wasn't in her room. Perhaps the living room? He turned to leave, but before he could, a weepy voice called out, "Satoru-niisama? I'm... in the closet."

In the closet? The last time he heard of any of his younger siblings hiding out inside of the closet was nearly nine years ago, when Kakeru first found out the truth of their father's departure. 'Upset' was an understatement.

Satoru opened the rice paper doors of the closet and found Hikaru on the upper shelf with Hikari laying on top of her lap. Hikaru's eyes had been fixed on the dog. She didn't even look up when Satoru opened the door.

"Hikaru? What's wrong?" Satoru asked.

Hikaru didn't say anything but continued stroking Hikari. Her cheeks were moist and her eyes were pink and filled with misery.

Satoru understood why Masaru came to Satoru during the time when he would be teaching a kendo class. This time, he wasn't overreacting. Satoru was only fortunate that Kakeru had late soccer practice. He didn't even want to imagine how his youngest brother would respond to seeing Hikaru in such a state after she had just come home from what should have been a fun field trip.

Hikaru closed her eyes. "Satoru-niisama," she whispered as if to not scare Hikari off, "do you think I'm a bad person?"

Satoru kept his solemn gaze, but his voice felt like cracking. He couldn't understand where such a question could come from. "No," Satoru replied. He hoped he sounded sincere enough to make her feel better. "Where would you get that idea?"

"I..." Hikaru began. She bit her lip. Satoru noticed that her hand was trembling.

"Hikaru..."

"I... I wish I could tell you." Her voice was barely audible. "I wish I could... but..."

Satoru forced a smile. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. I won't get mad at you. I promise."

Hikaru opened her eyes and pasted a wavering grin on her face. "I'm sorry to have... bothered you. Especially when you have a class... it was for nothing."

"I wouldn't say that," said Satoru. "I wish I knew what to say to you, Hikaru, but all I can say is that no matter what anybody else tells you, you are not a bad person. I don't know where you heard it or how that idea came across, but it's important that you know that. Will you be okay?"

Hikaru nodded. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to be," Satoru said. "You did nothing wrong."

"You can go back to your class now, if you want," said Hikaru, almost hastily. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

Hikaru nodded.

Satoru turned, albeit reluctantly, and headed back to the dojo. He couldn't let Kyousuke be there too long by himself; he was awfully dependent on others when it came to doing practically anything. But Hikaru... what was wrong with her?

He knew that something like this wouldn't be cured so easily. He needed to allow her to have some space to herself.

* * *

"Oh, no, not _that_ sappy romance story again!"

Kakeru sat at the dinner table, glaring at the booklet Masaru held in his hands. Masaru did not look up to meet Kakeru's gaze but stayed intent on the script.

"I want this part," said Masaru.

"You're already in another play!"

"So?"

Kakeru narrowed his eyes. Of course. Katsumi Aiaki was playing the part of the Capulet girl. Kakeru didn't know the story too well other than that a Montague boy and a Capulet girl, fall in love and kill themselves. That was all Kakeru really cared to know.

"You're going for that Montague kid, aren't you?" asked Kakeru.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

Kakeru held his head. "ARGH!"

It was then that Masaru put his script on the table to look at Kakeru. From the corner of his eyes, Kakeru noted that Masaru's face was puckered up to prevent laughter.

"What?" Masaru asked. He tried to sound innocent but the guffaw in his eyes betrayed him.

"You!" Kakeru yelped. He pointed at his older brother accusingly. "You! You and Miss Perfect Katsumi Aiaki! You two go to all levels for that... love or whatever you two call it!"

The hilarity Masaru wore in his eyes broke out in his mouth. "You're too funny, Kakeru!"

Kakeru raised a fist irritably. "You little--"

"But," said Masaru, "you're right. Since very few people appreciate the love Katsumi and I share--"

"Oh no."

"--this is the only way we can express how we feel to one another," Masaru continued melodramatically, "through the tragedy of _Romeo and Juliet_."

"MOTHER!"

Masaru broke into laughter again. "I'm just kidding, Kakeru! Sheesh, you told me that Katsumi was trying out for that Capulet girl, and that Capulet girl is Juliet's mother!"

Kakeru glared at Masaru. "And you are going for...?"

"Romeo's friend."

"Oh."

"But I still think it's a pretty decent story," said Masaru, picking the script up again. "I mean, everybody refers to them as 'star-crossed' lovers. Two people, not allowed to love each other, and by a very terrible turn of events, they both end up killing themselves."

Kakeru sighed and slammed his head on the table. "Sappy. Two people dying because they love each other when they're not supposed to? Stupid. Just plain stupid."

"These things do happen in real life, Kakeru. You just never heard about them."

"Have you?"

"Nope. But they do happen. Trust me on this one."

* * *

Because of the field trip to Tokyo Tower the day before, San'iku Academy for Talented Girls announced that the eighth graders would not have to attend school. San'iku Academy had that policy for girls in all grade levels. The excuse? The students might be exhausted.

Nobody ever complained about it.

After Masaru and Kakeru left for school--Masaru for Gashitsu Art Academy and Kakeru to Hokusei High School--Hikaru found herself able to step out of her room. She didn't wish to worry her brothers, and for Masaru and Satoru, any more than they may already be. She couldn't talk to them about what happened at Tokyo Tower. How could she? Where would she start?

They would never believe her anyway.

Hikaru had tried the moment she found herself back at Tokyo Tower that everything that happened was a dream. There was no Cephiro. There was no Princess Emeraude or the forbidden love she had for Zagato. There was no such thing as Magic Knights. It was all a dream.

But when she turned around and saw Umi and Fuu with the same emotions that were in her heart, she knew that everything had been real.

There was a land called Cephiro.

There were Magic Knights.

And Princess Emeraude and Zagato had been in love: forbidden love.

The Magic Knights--she, Umi, and Fuu--had been summoned to murder Princess Emeraude.

It was no dream, no matter how hard Hikaru tried to convince herself otherwise. It was real.

Hikaru trudged down the hall to the kitchen to grab something to eat. She was famished. The last time she ate anything was nearly a day before that final battle--after she returned home to the Shidou Kendo School, she had no dinner. It disgusted her to a degree that she should eat, but if she didn't, her brothers would fret for sure.

She had to eat something.

As she drew nearer to the living area, she heard two male voices speaking. Satoru and Kyousuke. Of course, Kyousuke always came over to the house to help Satoru with the kendo school, but it was a bit early for that, wasn't it? He never came over until sometime in the afternoon unless the two friends had planned to do something for the day. Maybe that's what Kyousuke was here for?

"Satoru," she heard Kyousuke whine, "you really need a girlfriend!"

Hikaru paused just outside of the living room. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but she didn't think she should just interrupt. The only way to the kitchen was through the living room, after all.

"I don't have time, Kyousuke-san."

"That's why you need one! So that you'll make time to enjoy yourself! That does it, our mission today is to get you a girlfriend."

"Kyousuke-san..."

"I'm serious, Satoru!"

"You haven't had a girlfriend, either, Kyousuke-san," said Satoru, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"This is different. I don't need one. You do. Okay, fine, we'll at least find you a girl to fall in love with. Maybe then you'll see more to life than just family and friends."

"Are you in love with anybody?"

There was a pause.

"Yes," said Kyousuke, "and _that's_ what makes our situations different. I'm a step ahead of you, but at the same time..."

Kyousuke trailed off. When neither of the two men spoke, Hikaru gathered up her courage and walked into the living area and toward the kitchen.

"Good morning, Hikaru," said both of the men.

Hikaru forced a smile. "Good morning, Satoru-niisama, Kyousuke."

Hikaru walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. While her eyes scoured the shelves for something palatable, her mind wandered to the conversation between her brother and his friend.

Did people really need to fall in love in order to live?

Could anybody actually live alone without anybody to understand him?

_Kyousuke doesn't understand_, thought Hikaru. _As long as Satoru-niisama has him, he doesn't need anybody to love, does he? Kyousuke seems to understand Satoru-niisama better than anybody else I know._

_Could Kyousuke possibly be...?_

* * *

"See you tomorrow, Kakeru!"

Kakeru waved to Yuujirou and Hidehiro and pedaled his way home.

Finally he managed to convince those two to join the soccer team. It wasn't that he didn't have any friends on the athletic teams he joined--now that he started high school, it was only soccer and baseball--it was just that he needed somebody to talk to during practices. None of his teammates were qualified for that. Only Yuujirou and Hidehiro were.

"KAKERU!"

Kakeru stopped pedaling and looked behind him. He had only traveled until the corner of the school's fence, but behind him he saw a young girl with sandy curls running towards him.

"Fumiko?"

Fumiko stopped running once she reached Kakeru. She put her hand on the post of the fence and panted.

"I was waiting for you!" she said. "I need to talk to you."

"Since when did you need to talk to me?" asked Kakeru. "I thought you hated me."

"I do! But this is about you or me or..." Fumiko took a deep breath and looked at Kakeru with the most serious eyes he's ever seen from her. "It's about Hikaru."

Kakeru jumped off his bike and grabbed Fumiko's shoulders. "What about Hikaru?! My cute little sister... what about her?!"

"She's been... well, she's been acting strange," said Fumiko. "I called her today, but she didn't want to talk or even go to the mall with me and Rei and Sera. I was wondering if you knew anything at all, I mean, you're her older brother, closest to her in age... you have to know something."

Kakeru frowned. This morning he hadn't seen Hikaru, but he figured that she was still asleep. After all, she had no school that day. The night before Satoru told him that Hikaru was exhausted and wouldn't come out of her bedroom to eat. Maybe Hikaru was merely tired from the field trip. No, that wouldn't be right. Hikaru never lost her energy so quickly!

He released Fumiko and turned away from her.

"To tell you the truth," he said, "I don't know. I haven't seen her since yesterday morning. But I'll try to find out for you, how about that?"

"Well, okay, but we do have school tomorrow, so maybe I could find out then myself," said Fumiko. "I don't know. I wish I knew what was wrong with her, so maybe I could help."

"If Hikaru's Hikaru," said Kakeru with a grin, "she'll be back to her regular self in a few days. She doesn't let anything bother her unless it's really bad. And I can't think of anything that would happen to my sweet little sister to have her in a depression for a long time."

"You sure?"

Kakeru looked at Fumiko and nodded. "Of course I'm sure. She is my little sister, after all."

But when Kakeru returned home, there was no sign of Hikaru anywhere. For that matter, Hikaru didn't come out to eat dinner or to greet him or anything. The next morning, however, she was up and about, but she wasn't cheerful. Her air was melancholy and her reluctance to eat was peculiar. After school, Hikaru went straight to her room, according to Masaru. The entire cycle repeated for the next couple of days.

Kakeru wanted to talk to her about what was bothering her but every time he tried, he couldn't find the words to say. He asked Satoru and Masaru, but neither of them knew.

So one Saturday, the three brothers decided to observe her for a while to see what was up.

"She's been like that since the field trip to Tokyo Tower."

"Something must have happened there!"

"What do you think?"

"Maybe a bunch of tourists bumped into her? Or some guy flirted with her!"

"We cannot forgive anybody who does something dishonorable to our cute little Hikaru!"

Satoru let his two younger brothers continue with their play, but he decided to see if there was still anything at all that he could do to help Hikaru. For a week now she's been in this state of depression, and he never found out what it was.

He knelt in front of his sister.

"Satoru-niisama..."

"You still won't tell me why you're upset?"

Hikaru looked away from him and shook her head.

"I won't ask you then," said Satoru. He smiled. "A man has to make up his own mind. If that's what you want to do, then stick with it until the end."

_Thusly begins the second season of Magic Knight Rayearth..._

To Be Continued


	7. Return Home

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Seven: Return Home**_

**Bearit's Notes**: Wow, you guys are liking the shounen-ai I have in here. I was afraid I'd lose readers because of it. I probably did regardless. Well, there's another dose in this chapter. I have to stress this right here and now: _this is based on the manga_! The only thing you need to know about the differences between the manga and anime, for this story, is that Debonair and Nova and Innouva and Sierra never existed, Eagle is not dead, and Presea is not dead. Mokona is the Creator, and the girls go to and from Cephiro very often. Sorry if I spoiled the anime and/or manga for you. :-p

A slight warning: I'm afraid that this chapter is probably just as boring as the first one was. At least there's a Kyousuke moment, ne?

* * *

"I'm late!"

"You're going out?"

"Yup! With Umi and Fuu!"

Masaru walked to the doorway and watched Hikaru getting ready to go off somewhere--with Umi and Fuu, of course. Masaru minded neither of them; both were really nice girls, although Kakeru and Umi really didn't seem to get along.

"Will you be back for dinner?" asked Satoru.

Hikaru nodded. "Of course! Bye!"

Satoru and Kakeru seemed satisfied with this information and waved Hikaru off. Masaru, however, was curious. Would she be at Umi's house today or Fuu's?

"Where are you going?" Masaru asked.

"Another world!"

Masaru blinked. He quickly glanced at Kakeru, who only shrugged. When Masaru turned back to the gate, Hikaru had left, and Satoru was making his way back into the house.

"Another world?" asked Masaru. He followed his brothers inside. "What did she mean by that?"

"Maybe an amusement park?" Kakeru suggested.

"Is there an amusement park called 'Another World?'"

"Disneyland is considered to be the happiest place on Earth," said Kakeru. "Maybe that's what she meant. Maybe she's going to Disneyland."

Masaru gasped. "She is? Why didn't she just tell me! I would've given her money to buy whatever she wanted!"

"That's it? I would have gone with her to make sure nothing bad happens this time," said Kakeru.

Masaru knew that he was talking about that field trip to Tokyo Tower Hikaru had taken three years ago in the eighth grade. None of the brothers ever found out what went wrong except that she had met her friends Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji there--and that wasn't really a bad thing. They were just 'victims' (as Masaru assumed) of the same thing Hikaru went through. Everything seemed to be better now, but none of the brothers could grasp what could have happened in such a short period of time to ease Hikaru's angst-ridden heart during that week.

It was nearly three years ago, so Satoru, Masaru, and Kakeru never questioned her about it. They were still curious, however.

"Oh, and you'll do the same thing you did to Hidehiro back in elementary school and get into trouble?" Masaru teased. "This time, you'd probably go to jail..."

"Hey, hey! I only threatened him. _You_ were the one on the verge of beating him up," Kakeru retorted.

"Hey now..."

The phone in the hallway rung.

Masaru looked around for Satoru, but since he wasn't there, Masaru figured he went back to helping their mother with cooking dinner. Kakeru gave Masaru a deadpan look. He always refused to answer the phone when there were two consecutive rings before a short pause--it indicated a long-distance phone call.

Masaru rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine, _I'll_ answer it!"

Kakeru grinned and trotted to his room. Masaru shook his head.

"Lazy, stupid, little brother..." He picked up the phone. "Hello, Shidou residence!" he said cheerfully.

"Hello! May I ask who's speaking?"

Masaru frowned. The man didn't sound familiar. "Um, not the man of the household. Do you want to talk to my older brother? Or my mother? Or something? Or are you a telemarketer because if you are, we're--"

"Not the man of the household? I guess Satoru-san would be now. How old is he? In his late twenties, I guess. How about Hikaru-san? Graduating this year? Or next year?"

Masaru shook his head in disbelief. "Hikaru is... wait. Who are you? Uncle Tadasu?"

"No, no, I'm not your uncle," said the voice on the other end. "Who am I speaking to? Masaru-san? Or Kakeru-san?"

"Why should I tell you? _Who are you_?"

"I guess after all these years you wouldn't recognize my voice. It has to be about, oh, twelve years, maybe, since we last saw each other."

"Twelve years...?"

_Who haven't I seen in twelve years? Twelve years ago I was ten. Someone I haven't seen since I was ten. Who haven't I seen since I was ten? Wait... oh, no, it can't be!_

"Unless, of course," continued the voice, "you're a family friend or boyfriend of Hikaru-san. Then we've probably never met. I'm Mitsuru--"

"Father?!"

* * *

Kinoko watched her eldest son stir the soup as she cut up some carrots.

"You don't need to help me, Satoru-kun," she said. "It's Sunday! You should rest yourself. It's the only day that you get the full day off from the school."

"You're the one who needs the rest, Mother," said Satoru.

Kinoko laughed. "Me? I only do the laundry, clean the house, and cook. It's nothing that causes me to get tired. You're the one who teaches kendo classes every single day of the week. Why don't you go do something with Kyousuke-kun?"

"Mother--"

"SATORU-NIISAN!"

A blur rushed into the small kitchen and pushed Satoru away from the stovetop and against the refrigerator. The pot scooted to the edge, and Kinoko placed her hands on the handle so that it would not fall. She turned to her son irritably.

"Masaru-kun--"

"Satoru-niisan!" cried Masaru gleefully, completely ignoring Kinoko. "Father called! Father called! He's coming home! Father. Is. Coming. Home! In two days! Father is coming home in two days!"

Satoru's eyes widened. Kinoko froze.

"What?" they gasped.

_Mitsuru-san... is coming back?_

Masaru nodded. "He just called! He. Just. Called! He's coming back on Tuesday! Tuesday! Father's coming home on Tuesday! Two days from now!"

Kinoko was at a loss for words. Her husband was coming home? In two days? Mitsuru was going to be back at the Shidou residence in two days after being gone for twelve years. In fact, he contacted the family for the first time since that fateful day twelve years ago when he apologized for missing Kakeru's and Hikaru's birthdays and warned the family that he may be gone even for Christmas.

But she hadn't expected him to be gone for as long as he had. And without having hearing anything from him in such a long time, she assumed that he had found another woman or had died.

She would have preferred that he died.

Why was he coming back?

"Are--are you sure?" asked Satoru. He pulled Masaru's hands off of his shoulders. Masaru nodded. Satoru frowned. "Where is he now?"

"In Kyoto," said Masaru. "He's going to board the train tomorrow afternoon for Tokyo, so he won't be back until Tuesday... but Father is coming home!"

Satoru would have smiled at this point. Kinoko had no doubt about that. Instead, he looked over Masaru's head and his frown turned worse. Kinoko and Masaru followed Satoru's gaze and saw Kakeru standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

Anguish overwhelmed Kinoko. She knew nothing of Kakeru's feelings other than he had been heartbroken when Mitsuru had broken his promise to him. It was only eight years old at the time, but children's hearts were easily scarred at the age of eight.

"Kakeru-kun..." she said, but Kakeru shook his head, not allowing her to continue.

"Father is coming home?" he asked, sorrow in his voice. His attempt at a grin failed. "I--I have to go to soccer practice..."

He turned and ran out of the room.

"Kakeru still hasn't forgiven him," said Masaru woefully.

Kinoko sighed. It was Sunday. Kakeru had no soccer practice. But Kinoko knew that he didn't want to receive sympathy from any of the family, and Kinoko knew better than to question Kakeru's wishes.

* * *

The trip to Cephiro had been a nice one, like always, but there was one question that Lantis had asked that left Hikaru pondering.

_"Who do you want to 'marry'?"_

She had answered both him and Eagle--and that was an honest answer. But there were laws in Japan, and she couldn't have them both if she wanted their marriage to be legal on Earth. She wasn't sure how Autozam went about with their marriages--if they even had any--and she was pretty sure that Cephiro had no such thing. Otherwise, Lantis wouldn't have asked what marriage was, would he?

It was a question she had to consider. That was why, immediately afterward, she listed everybody else she loved.

She didn't love them as much as she loved Lantis and Eagle, though.

Hikaru walked through the gate of her home. The sun was just beginning to set, and she hoped she wasn't too late for dinner. That's not saying that she was hungry--Umi's homemade cake was enough to fill her up--but she didn't want to disappoint her brothers and mother by being late and breaking her promise to be home in time for dinner.

She approached the front door, and as she was taking off her shoes, she heard her mother and Satoru speaking.

"This probably isn't a good idea."

"Father doesn't know."

"Yet. He doesn't know yet. I'm not entirely happy with him myself, but Kakeru-kun... I don't think Kakeru-kun would be able to face him."

"Mother--"

"It's been twelve years, Satoru-kun. Twelve years since he left and now he's coming home? I don't blame Kakeru-kun for being angry with him, but..."

Hikaru froze. _Father is coming home?_

"I wish I could say that Kakeru would get over it, but it has been too long, maybe, for Kakeru to forgive him."

"I still can't believe Mitsuru is coming back."

Hikaru hopped to her feet and ran around to the back. The conversation her mother and eldest brother were having seemed to be important, and she didn't want to interrupt them at the moment. She had nothing to say. Besides, she could always go into her home through many other entrances.

Her father was coming home!

_But why would Kakeru-niisama be upset...?_

She stopped running. As soon as she asked that question, a flood of memories returned to her.

_"Um, what did you want to talk to us about? We aren't in trouble, are we?"_

That day... twelve years ago...

_"You're mean, Satoru-niisan! Why do I have to do it? You're the oldest one! You're the one who got that letter in the mail this afternoon!"_

It was the first time Hikaru had ever seen Kakeru get upset.

_"What?! You mean he isn't going to be back even for Christmas? Not for my next year's birthday when I turn nine? When Hikaru turns seven? He--he's not going to be back ever?!"_

_"I didn't say--"_

_"It's bad enough that he broke his promise!"_

_"But--"_

_"Why isn't he? WHY? Did I do something wrong? Does he hate me now?"_

Hikaru sat on a nearby boulder and covered her face with her hands. She could still remember that day twelve years ago, after Satoru received a letter in the mail from their father, saying that he would not be home until, most likely, some time after that Christmas. That "some time" turned out to be a "long time". But the thing the haunted Hikaru the most while growing up was why her father left.

"He left because of me," she murmured. "He left because of me. It was all my fault."

_"Kakeru-niisama should hate _me_! Everything that happened..."_

That was the day she gave up kendo. She gave it up so that when her father returned, he would stay. Kakeru would hate neither him nor her, and the Shidou family could once again be the happiest family in Japan.

But in order to get into San'iku Academy, Hikaru took up kendo. Masaru had called her a natural at the sport. It seemed to have been a skill she was destined to have--like magic powers, in a way. Then again, she had magic powers in Cephiro, but this isn't Cephiro. This was Tokyo. _Earth_.

"What do I do?" she moaned.

* * *

Mitsuru Shidou stood outside of the place he had once called home many years ago. He doubted that the family would accept him immediately and lovingly--maybe except for Masaru. He seemed ecstatic after that call a couple days before, but how would everybody else take it? Twelve years was too long to be away from family, and Mitsuru finally understood.

With his luggage by his side, Mitsuru sighed and knew he had to follow through this. A monk up in Aomori once told him that promises were not made when one uttered the phrase, "I promise". A promise is made when one says to do something that would make another happy. The same monk also told Mitsuru that promises were never meant to be broken and a real man would stay true to his word.

There were a lot of things Mitsuru learned, and the only reason why he stayed longer than he should have was simply he wanted to find a way to redeem all of his mistakes of his past.

"I've returned," Mitsuru muttered and opened the gates. He pulled his four bags inside of the property and closed the door.

Just as soon as he turned to face the house, Mitsuru yelped and found himself shoved to the ground. There was a beastly growl and a woof, and Mitsuru pulled his head up in time to prevent hitting his head on the pavement and to see a wolfish crimson eyes glaring into his own.

_A... a dog?!_

Mitsuru felt his nose itching. Maybe he had come to the wrong house.

"Hikari!" called a low and stern voice.

The eyes of the canine seemed to change color from scarlet to innocent warm chocolate as the dog jumped off Mitsuru and to the house. Mitsuru glanced in that direction and saw a young man, probably in his twenties, standing at the door. His bangs fell in front of his eyes like thin and dark russet leaves. His eyes carried a sense of maturity that often dwelled in wise men.

"Satoru-san...?"

The man gave Mitsuru a small smile. "You don't look like you aged too much, Father."

Mitsuru shook his head with a big grin as he scampered to his feet. "It's good to see you, Satoru-san," he said. "But I have to admit. I do not know whether to ask about the dog or no questions at all."

"I'll explain later," said Satoru. He came out from the house and walked to Mitsuru, grabbing some suitcases. "Mother is inside making lunch. Masaru, Kakeru, and Hikaru are in school, and I have a friend over."

"Do I know him, or is he a new friend?" asked Mitsuru as he picked up the other two bags that Satoru hadn't picked up. Amazingly enough, they were the lighter ones. _He chose to carry the heavy suitcases. Satoru-san hasn't changed at all, has he?_

Satoru smiled. "An old friend," he replied. "Kyousuke Togawajun."

Mitsuru lead Satoru to the house and laughed. "Togawajun-kun? You two are still friends after all this time? How about the others?"

"They went their own ways after high school," said Satoru. "Kyousuke-san seemed to want to help out with the dojo, so we became really close after we graduated."

"I see," Mitsuru mused. When father and son reached the porch and pulled off their shoes, Mitsuru glanced worriedly behind him. The dog was sitting by the fence as still as a statue--if Mitsuru didn't know better he would say that the dog was a guardian of a sort. A painted stone guardian, but a guardian of the house no less. "Is the dog allowed in the house?"

"No," answered Satoru. "If he is, it's only in Hikaru's room."

"I should have guessed it was Hikaru's dog," said Mitsuru with a sigh. _You put this on yourself. It was probably because of you that they bought the thing._ "It even has the same name as Hikaru... or rather, the same meaning."

"We didn't have enough time to think about his name," said Satoru. With a small nod toward the interior of the house, Satoru invited Mitsuru to go inside. "I'll take your suitcases to your room, Father. You can go to the living room and meet Mother and Kyousuke-san."

Mitsuru found that he couldn't protest. Satoru was already inside and headed down the hall towards the bedrooms. Mitsuru sighed. Satoru was probably glad that he was back, he just wasn't an affectionate person. If that was the case, Satoru hadn't had much time to himself to mature out of the fourteen-year-old persona that Mitsuru left behind. That was, Mitsuru admitted, completely his fault. He should not have put such a big responsibility like taking care of the dojo on a young child.

He walked into the house and, if he remembered the layout of the home correctly, headed toward the living room.

Twelve years was not a long enough time to let Mitsuru forget where everything in the home was located. It seemed as if the family had not made any changes to the house since he left.

He cautiously peered into the living room and was almost relieved to only find a brunette-haired man sitting at the table. He wished Kinoko was there, though. It had been so long since he has seen her; he hoped that she hadn't aged too much over the years.

_What are you saying? Her beauty couldn't have decayed in a period of twelve years. I'll give it a thousand years before her age catches up with her._

Mitsuru also had to admit that he was glad she wasn't in there with the man--Kyousuke Togawajun, he presumed. They hadn't separated on good terms. Kinoko had been thoroughly upset at Mitsuru when he left and hadn't even offered a kiss or hug goodbye. She just told him to leave while Hikaru was running a simple errand and Kakeru was taking a bath. And he had. He didn't know what to tell her without further angering her.

Of course, with someone in the room that he barely recognized, he wouldn't be exactly comfortable only talking to him until Kinoko or Satoru showed up. But he couldn't just stand there, especially after the man noticed him.

"You must be Satoru's father," he said with a bright smile. "I'm Kyousuke Togawajun. I'm not sure if you remember me when I hardly recognize you, but..."

It was fine.

"I have to admit that I don't recognize you, but I do know who you are," said Mitsuru. "Is it all right if I sit?"

"It's your house, Shidou-san," said Kyousuke. "I can't tell you what you can and can't do in your own home."

"Mitsuru's fine," said Mitsuru as he took a seat across from Kyousuke, "if you're a friend of the family. I heard that you've been helping Satoru-san with the dojo?"

Kyousuke's grin softened as he took another sip from the cup. "He needs it. Sure, he has other people he hired to handle the advanced classes when we were still in junior high, but they don't come by as often anymore. I just wanted to relieve his stress, that's all. Maybe even get him to have fun every once in a while."

Mitsuru frowned and shook his head. "I don't know what Satoru did for fun before I left, so I couldn't tell you what to do."

"I've been trying to get him a girlfriend," said Kyousuke as an offer for a suggestion. "But he refuses."

Mitsuru widened his eyes and gawked at Kyousuke. "You mean he's never had a girlfriend?"

"It's more accurate to say that he refuses to go out with a girl," said Kyousuke. He stared at the cup. "He could have easily gotten one back in high school since he was the most popular boy in school. Good looking, very smart and athletic, and at the same time supporting his family. All the girls adored him."

_The modesty must have come from his mother._

"Unless," said Mitsuru as if he had told Kyousuke his thoughts, "he's actually interested in a boy. Is he?"

Kyousuke didn't seem to want to lift his eyes from the teacup. "Um..."

_Guess that was the wrong question to ask_, Mitsuru figured. Kyousuke probably wasn't the type that condoned those sorts of relationships.

"I was just jo--" Mitsuru began, but when he studied Kyousuke more closely, he saw that the boy was... blushing? Kyousuke was just the opposite of what he assumed. The mischievous streak in Mitsuru returned for the first time in many years. He grinned wickedly. "Well, _is_ he?"

"No," replied Kyousuke. His shoulders were hunched to his ears, and Mitsuru could no longer see his face. Kyousuke had lowered his head so far that his bangs hung in front of his eyes. "He isn't."

Mitsuru chuckled. Gotten really close after high school indeed! "You're certainly an enigma, Togawajun-kun, trying to get Satoru a girlfriend when _you_--"

"Mitsuru-san?"

Mitsuru truncated his sentence. He turned around and saw his wife standing in the doorway with wide eyes. "Kinoko-san!" he said, his smile transforming to playful to tender. She was still beautiful after all these years. "I'm home."

"ExcusemeIhavetousethebathroom," Kyousuke muttered. He stood and left the room, leaving Mitsuru and Kinoko alone.

"Mitsuru-san, I..." Kinoko began, but she didn't seem to be able to complete her sentence.

Mitsuru sighed and frowned. He had no idea what to say, but Kinoko, luckily, did everything for him. A tear slipped from her eye as she walked into the room. After standing over him for only a second with eyes that seemed torn between disgust and happiness, she fell to her knees and grabbed Mitsuru, burying her head in his chest.

"You idiot!" she sobbed. "I hate you!"

Mitsuru smiled warmly again and wrapped his arms around Kinoko. "I missed you, too."

* * *

When Kakeru returned home from soccer practice late in the evening, he didn't go straight into the house. He knew his father was home just by noticing a different pair of shoes at the porch. Scowling, he snuck around to the side of the house and listened to the conversation that Kyousuke, Satoru, Masaru, his mother and father were having. They all seemed to be having a jolly good time.

It did not make Kakeru feel any better.

"You mean to tell me that you were in Shinjuku and you didn't tell us? It's only a two hour train ride from here!" exclaimed Masaru.

"I was only passing by for the day," his father replied. "But I did see you perform in that musical of yours, Masaru-san."

"Really?"

"I couldn't tell which one you were, though, with all that make-up! Your name was just on the poster, so I went and saw. I think you might have been one of the main characters... was it the Scarecrow?"

"Yes! Ha, how'd you guess?"

Kakeru rolled his eyes. _Because he probably just read the cast list and didn't even see the musical. Liar._

"It had to be one of the main characters since your name was on the poster. From there, I just made a guess based on the nature of the character. You did a really good job and you're a better singer than I ever was."

"You ought to tell Kakeru that..."

Kakeru scowled. No, he had better _not_. From the sounds of it, Kakeru knew that if he went in right now, his father would pretend like nothing ever happened. He was just gone from a long trip and came back. No big deal.

No big deal. Yeah, right. Doesn't he wish?

Something wet tickled Kakeru's hand, and he looked down to see his little sister's dog Hikari licking his hand. Kakeru managed a small smile. He patted Hikari's head and muttered, "No, just because Father is home doesn't mean we're going to get rid of you." He knelt next to the dog and hugged him. "Just because he's allergic to fur doesn't mean that you have to go anywhere. I promise."

_I wish we could let you in the house now, though._

"Kakeru-niisama."

Kakeru looked up. "Hey, Hikaru. You were out with Umi and Fuu again?"

Hikaru nodded. She had a cheerful smile, but her eyes were melancholy. Kakeru knew that her enthusiasm when she found out about their father returning had been an act to keep the others from worrying. She knew just as well as Kakeru that she would have to duel with him again. It was only a matter of time.

"Father is home, isn't he?" she asked.

Kakeru stood, Hikari still by his side. "He's home, acting like nothing has happened."

"I see."

For a moment, neither brother nor sister spoke. They listened to the conversation inside of the house about Masaru's life, but finally Hikaru asked, "Do you still hate him?"

Kakeru closed his eyes. He never wanted Hikaru to feel bad, but he didn't want to outright lie to her, especially if she was the only one who would understand his feelings.

"He broke a promise," he replied. "That's dishonorable for anybody and everybody. I don't care if he apologizes for it, it was twelve years ago, and a simple apology won't make things any better. It would be a whole lot easier to forgive him if he returned after that Christmas like he said he was going to instead of, what is it? Eleven Christmases over? He didn't even send us New Year's... anything! If he wasn't going to be home for Christmas, no big deal, but New Year's?"

"Kakeru-niisama..."

"I don't see how I could forgive him."

Another moment of silence. Kakeru held back the tears that were threatening to arise.

"What would happen," asked Hikaru hesitantly, "if we fought in kendo again and I beat him?"

Kakeru scowled. "Nothing," he said, "because I won't let you fight him. I'm going to be the one to duel and defeat him."

To Be Continued


	8. Kakeru's Decision

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Eight: Kakeru's Decision**_

**Bearit's Notes**: "Cruel Angel's Thesis" is a COOL song! It helped me write the Kakeru aspects of the chapter--let me rephrase that, considering that this entire chapter is about Kakeru: the song helped me write the _scenes_ with Kakeru _in_ them. Only two more chapters!

* * *

There was something wrong with Hikaru. It was hard for Umi to not notice and even more so to see that Fuu knew as well.

Hikaru carried troubles in her eyes no matter what her mouth represented. She looked happy when she wasn't. That annoyed Umi so much that she wished that she could just punch a hole in the concrete wall without causing a single scratch on her hand. What caused Umi further annoyance was that nobody had yet to ask her about it when they all knew that something was wrong. Primera even noticed and was acting accordingly.

For the first time since the Pillar System had been abolished, the girls had a very difficult time to get to Cephiro for the past couple of days. Going home was surprisingly easier, which led Umi to conclude that something odd was going on in the Shidou household.

Umi and Fuu agreed to find out what was wrong with Hikaru before it was too late. Too late for what? Neither of the girls wanted to find out.

"Hikaru?" Umi called softly, opening the door to the bedroom the three girls shared during overnight trips to Cephiro. "Are you there?"

It was a rhetorical question. If Hikaru wasn't with everybody else, or alone with Lantis, or in Eagle's room, and since Geo and Zazu--the only two visiting from another country--were with everybody else instead of not, she had to be in their room.

And she was. No big surprise to either Umi or Fuu.

Hikaru gazed out the window, apparently looking somewhere out in the new world of Cephiro. Her back was facing Umi and Fuu, so Umi couldn't tell what kind of expression she held on her face. What's more, Hikaru didn't answer either of them, so she had to be lost in thought. Umi only knew of one way to derail that.

"Hikaru!" Umi yelled.

Hikaru jumped and spun quickly to face them. Her eyes were wide and her mouth twitched upwards on one end. "U... Umi-chan? Fuu-chan?" she squeaked.

"Oh, you..." Umi growled.

From behind her, Fuu closed the door with a small click and said, "Hikaru-san, are you all right? You haven't been yourself lately."

Hikaru flashed an obviously forced smile and nodded. "I'm fine."

Umi narrowed her eyes and approached Hikaru. "No, you are _not_," she said. "We know when you're being Hikaru, and you are not being Hikaru right now!" Hikaru turned her gaze to the floor when Umi came within an arm's length of her. "Everybody is worried about you."

"I... see," Hikaru murmured. "But you don't need to know. It's not important."

Before Umi could lash out at Hikaru, Fuu had approached Umi's side.

"Hikaru-san, seeing you like this makes Umi-san and I concerned," said Fuu. "It is our business when our friend--our best friend--is bothering her this much."

"But..."

Umi took a deep breath to calm herself. "Hikaru, you can tell us anything, you know that, right?"

Hikaru slowly nodded, her eyes never lifting from the ground. "Thanks, Umi-chan, Fuu-chan, but... it's just that... I don't know... what do about... Kakeru-niisama."

_Kakeru?_ Umi's first thought was one of disgust, but Hikaru loved her brothers dearly. She couldn't think ill of him at the moment no matter how badly she and Kakeru interacted.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Umi asked.

At the same time, Fuu asked, "Is there something wrong with Kakeru-san?"

Hikaru pressed her back to the wall and slid down. She hugged her knees and muttered something that Umi could barely hear.

"Eh?" Umi asked as she knelt to hear Hikaru better.

"Father came home," Hikaru repeated in a harsh whisper.

"Your... father?" asked Umi. She arched a brow. "You mean the one who went on that quest when you were a kid?" Hikaru nodded. Umi frowned. _Wouldn't they all be happy that he's back? Unless..._

Hikaru never really talked about her family much with Umi or Fuu. When the two girls met Hikaru's family for the first time, they both kept in mind to never mention the Shidou father in any way. The rest of the family also never brought him up. There was only one time when Hikaru shared with Umi and Fuu her father's whereabouts, which she didn't even know. All she said was that he was on a quest to get stronger... and Umi joked for a moment about him leaving because she defeated him in kendo when she was in kindergarten.

Umi had guessed correctly, but after that, their attention had been drawn to the possibilities of Mokona's family.

Well, Mokona being the Creator and all, he didn't have a family other than his surrogate one: Hikaru, Umi, Fuu, and everybody else in Cephiro.

"He never kept in touch, did he?" Umi asked. "He left for, what was it? We're seventeen now... wow, more than ten years. He was gone for more than ten years and he never kept in touch?"

Hikaru nodded. Umi gawked.

_What kind of father is he?!_

Before Umi could say anything, Fuu sat next to Hikaru and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hikaru-san, I think I understand why Kakeru-san would be upset, but why just Kakeru-san?"

"He... wants to duel against Father... in my place," Hikaru replied. "He wants to duel and defeat Father, and he doesn't even care if it means that if he does win he'll end up leaving again! I know that if Father loses he'll leave again! I don't want him to go! I don't!"

With that, Hikaru buried her head in her arms and broke into tears.

Umi and Fuu exchanged glances of concern and confusion. Umi, like Fuu, understood why Kakeru was angry with his father. After all, if he really was a good father, he would never have left in the first place, would he? Much less as long as he did!

"Hikaru-san," said Fuu in her most reassuring voice, "would it make you feel better if Kakeru-san just let _you_ fight against your father?"

Hikaru lifted her head and looked at Fuu. "Eh?"

"It sounds like Kakeru-san just wants to protect you," Fuu continued. "You felt guilty that your father left the first time, didn't you?" Hikaru, again, turned her head away from them, facing the opposite direction from Fuu. "Kakeru-san loves you, Hikaru-san. I don't think he wants you to go through that same anguish again."

_Certainly not working_, Umi thought bitterly. _Nice going, Kakeru._

Umi set aside those feelings and patted Hikaru's head, managing a small and joking smile when Hikaru turned her head to face her. "Don't worry about it so much, Hikaru," she said. "If I know Kakeru, his kendo skills aren't up to par with yours. I doubt he'll be able to defeat your father."

Hikaru grinned but only slightly. "Maybe."

The door opened with a silent whine. Umi turned her head and saw Ferio standing in the doorway.

"Dinner's ready," he said. Then he apparently noticed Hikaru and frowned. "Hikaru? Are you all right?"

Hikaru wiped her face and stood hastily. "Yeah!" she said with a bit of cheer in her voice. "I'm fine! I'll see you in the dining hall in a few minutes, okay?"

With that, she ran past Umi and past Ferio, leaving behind a very puzzled prince of Cephiro. He scratched his head and turned to face Umi and Fuu. He opened his mouth to ask, but Umi shook her head.

"We can't tell you," she said.

"Not unless Hikaru-san lets us know that it's okay," Fuu agreed. "I'm sorry, Ferio."

Ferio smiled and shook his head. "No, I understand. Well, come on. Let's get some food in our stomachs."

As Ferio left, Umi and Fuu exchanged one more glance full of concern, and they knew what had to be done.

Hikaru needed to tell Kakeru how she felt, and she had to do it before it was too late. This time, Umi knew what too late meant: Hikaru had to tell Kakeru before he went too far with his rage.

* * *

Crimson rays of light flooded into the dojo, tinting every object within it a pinkish shade. Kakeru really preferred to be in the dojo at night rather than in the evening, but after seeing his father wandering towards the kitchen, Kakeru knew that it was dinnertime. If he had gone to his room, Hikari would have barked and alerted everyone that he was home. If that had happened, Kakeru would find himself eating dinner with the one person who made his appetite vanish the instant he saw him.

Forgive his father? Kakeru refused to know how he ever could. His father broke a promise. It probably hadn't been a big one to him, and Kakeru knew that if he cried about it now, he would be acting like a child. If he did, it would be excusable. There was no reason why it should not. It was a childish promise given to a young child, and no matter what it was, Kakeru hated to see adults breaking promises to children.

At first, it hadn't hurt Kakeru. After his birthday and Hikaru's birthday had passed and his father had not shown up, Kakeru assumed that he was busy. Hikaru was a little depressed, but she cheered up when the cake was brought in. Two weeks later, Kakeru found out why his father had left and became incensed.

Not only did his father break a promise, he also hurt Hikaru's feelings by leaving for the reason that he did. That, above all, was unforgivable.

Kakeru found that he could never be angry with either of his older brothers. They wanted to protect him and Hikaru from the heartbreak, but a secret could not be kept a secret forever. Eventually, they had to tell them, and they did as soon as they found out that their father would not be returning until at least after New Year's.

Kakeru marched to the sword rack and plopped down in front of it. He folded his legs 'Indian Style' and crossed his arms. There was nothing particularly interesting about the rack, but Kakeru found it more peaceful to be sitting in the furthest corner away from the door. He would not have to see anybody walk by, and there was less likely of a chance that anybody would see him as he walked by.

It wasn't Kakeru's first choice for his 'Thinking Spot,' but sitting outside by the koi pond would increase his chances of coming face to face with his father. That was one thing Kakeru did not want.

His mother had transformed from her reserved, polite housewife ways to the woman of the house. Satoru no longer seemed to be the one in charge--it was all on their mother. She had yet to throw Mitsuru out of the house, but Kakeru assumed that she was using a psychological approach to it: yelling at him whenever he tried to be helpful with the household chores would probably do the trick. The problem with her attitude was that she never gave him the cold shoulder. When she wasn't screaming her head off, she was a stereotypical housewife.

If Satoru had any qualms about their father's return, his personality seemed to cover it up well already. Satoru was a kind-hearted soul, but he seemed aloof to everybody from friends and family to complete strangers. The only person who seemed to know his real feelings about everything was Kyousuke, and he didn't seem to be shining off any information about how Satoru felt about their father.

Masaru was being Masaru. "Tender" was his name, after all. Of course, "actor" was another meaning. So either Masaru really was glad that their father was home, or he was pretending to be just as well as Satoru could mask his emotions. Kakeru hated to admit it, but Masaru was a fairly good actor despite the fact that he loved to get melodramatic when put in the right circumstances.

Masaru was the only one who acted cheerful around their father. He was the one who engaged in many conversations with him. Masaru was the one who explained everything that was going on with the family when the father returned. Masaru always used his free time with their father, which was the only reason why Kakeru had drawn the conclusion that he was not faking it.

Hikaru, like Kakeru, avoided their father as much as possible. She stayed with Umi and Fuu later than she normally did (she should have been home by now) and no longer left for school with Masaru. Instead, she left earlier. Kakeru knew why. She didn't want to duel her father. She was quite certain that if she came face-to-face with him, she would end up doing so.

She couldn't avoid him forever, and Kakeru knew that. Kakeru, at least, could easily move out or stay overnight somewhere or something. He was an adult now; she was not. That was why he was going to duel in Hikaru's place.

"Kakeru-san?"

Kakeru stiffened and pursed his lips. _Just go away..._

"Kakeru-san, why are you there of all places?" his father asked curiously. "We just finished eating dinner--are you hungry?"

He glared at the tatami underneath the sword rack and clenched his fists around his sleeves irritably. Other than that, he did not move.

His father sighed. "The least you can do is answer me."

Pause._ I will not!_

"Kakeru-san, you've been avoiding me, haven't you?"

Kakeru closed his eyes. _Do you honestly care?_

"Why?"

The magic word. The fury inside of Kakeru exploded as he slowly stood to his feet. He snatched one of the wooden practice swords from the rack and turned to face his father with a snarling face.

"You dare ask 'why'?" Kakeru hissed through gritted teeth. His father's eyes widened--obviously, he had not been prepared for such a response. "You, of all people, should know!" he screamed.

"Kakeru-san, what are you--"

"--talking about?" Kakeru finished for him. He swung the wooden sword in front of him and stood in a fighting stance. "What am I talking about? You are the one who hurt Hikaru's feelings. You are the reason why she gave up her hobby for six years after you left. Six years after you left and not a word? Twelve years later still we hear nothing from you until last week when you decided to tell us you were coming back!"

His father closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. "I understand why you're upset--"

"Is that so?" spat Kakeru venomously. "Then you won't argue to a fight?"

"What?"

He snapped his head back to Kakeru, bewilderment spilled all over his face. However, his eyes showed some sort of sadness in them, giving it away that he had been expecting something like this. Kakeru learned to pay attention to eyes--they revealed more about one's real feelings more than the face in its entirety did.

He would have to apply that to Satoru someday.

"You won't fight against Hikaru," said Kakeru. "I will not let her go through the same pain again. Instead, you will fight me."

His father shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kakeru-san, but I didn't come back for a rema--"

"It's either me or nobody!"

"I agree, Kakeru-san, and I refuse to fight you."

Kakeru nearly dropped the sword then, taken aback. The last thing he expected was such sternness and sincerity in his father's expression and voice as he said those words. If his father hadn't come back for another duel against Hikaru, then why had he returned?

"Coward," Kakeru growled. "You left us just because Hikaru defeated you. You abandoned this entire family, your family, just because your daughter defeated you in a sport you thought you were an expert at when she was only five years old! So _why_ are you back?!"

There was silence.

His father narrowed his eyes and peered into Kakeru's eyes, which made the latter feel uneasy. He bit his lip and looked away, but the damage had been done.

"It's not only for your little sister that you are challenging me, is it?" his father asked quietly. "There's something else, isn't there? Another reason why you've been avoiding me lately? The _main_ reason?"

Kakeru cringed. He finally realized it. Kakeru knew it.

"What is it, Kakeru-san?"

Kakeru let the sword fall to the tatami mat. "You should know."

"I'm afraid I don't."

The umbrage returned as Kakeru glared at his father. "This isn't a joke! You know what you did to me when you left!"

"I didn't say it was, and no, I don't," he replied, shock once again evident on his face. "Kakeru-san, why are you mad at me?"

_He doesn't remember?!_

"Never make promises you don't intend to keep, Father," snarled Kakeru. "You should have remembered that! Before you left, you should have remembered that!"

Another moment of silence.

This time, neither father nor son studied one another. Kakeru, his chin quivering, continued to glare at his baffled father.

"I'm sorry," his father finally said. "I'm sorry for whatever I might have said--no, I'm sorry for the promise I broke. It must have been really important to you. I should probably go help your mother with the dishes, but you will come out and eat, right? I haven't seen you touch a bite around this house since I came back."

With that, his father walked across the garden towards the Shidou household.

Kakeru fell to his knees and held his head in his hands. "Damn you! How could you forget?!"

"Sorry" was not an apology to his heart.

It was then when Kakeru forever lost faith in his father.

* * *

Kyousuke stared incredulously at Satoru's youngest brother. Satoru was equally silent, unsure of how to respond to Kakeru's decision.

Kakeru inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to keep his composure as he continued to speak. "It's the only way. At least I'm... somewhat certain that he won't want to fight Hikaru, but... if he does, I won't have to be around to see it."

"Are you sure about this?" Kyousuke asked slowly.

Kakeru nodded. "Unless you have another solution, I am one hundred percent certain that I want to go through with this."

It was morning, and Kakeru had wanted to talk to Satoru and Kyousuke. Kyousuke had, at first, been relieved to finally see Kakeru someplace other than _not_ where the rest of the family was, but when Kakeru told them that he needed to speak with them privately (the kitchen, of all places), Kyousuke knew that it couldn't be about something good.

Ever since Mitsuru had returned home, everybody but Masaru had been acting oddly. Hikaru, who normally loved everybody, was distant to her entire family and even to her best friend, Fumiko. Kakeru never showed his face to any member of the family until recently, and it pained Kyousuke to think about Satoru. Satoru was the most emotional of all about it, although while around the rest of the Shidou family, he seemed as he always was. Kyousuke, however, received different responses when the two were alone.

Satoru had finally taken Kyousuke up on his offer. He released his emotions that he kept bottled up for twelve years onto Kyousuke's shoulder; unfortunately, Kyousuke couldn't do anything more than embrace him while he did so.

"Kakeru," said Satoru in his normal, solemn voice, "have you talked to Father about this?"

"About this? No," said Kakeru. "I have talked to him, and that's why..."

"That's why you came to this decision," Kyousuke finished. "What did you two talk about?"

Kakeru bit his lip and looked away from the two older men. "A... lot of stuff, actually," he murmured, loud enough so that they could hear. "Enough things... but almost too much. He doesn't want to fight Hikaru, but I can't trust him anymore. He says he's back for good, but I doubt that. He'll leave again, I know it, and he'll make another promise that he won't keep and then he'll... he'll..."

Kakeru hugged himself and shivered. Everybody compared Kakeru to Satoru, but it was then when Kyousuke believed how similar the two really were. It wasn't just because of their popularity during high school; it was the aura they gave off towards people: aloof from afar, warm as one drew nearer, and a conflict underneath the shell. Of course, Kakeru was louder and more adventurous than Satoru, but the emotional distress he was displaying was too reminiscent of the one Satoru displayed to Kyousuke the day that his father returned.

Satoru sighed. "How much money do you need?"

Kyousuke stared at Satoru, shocked, but Satoru didn't return the glance. Kakeru had not expected that response either; Kyousuke caught a glimpse of him gawking at the eldest Shidou brother.

"I'm not going to stop you from your decision," Satoru said as if to answer both Kyousuke and Kakeru's question. "And I wish to be able to do the same. You have your freedom as an adult. I can't stop you from doing anything any longer."

"You don't need to give me any money," said Kakeru. "This is my decision. I'll find a part time job."

"That won't work if you need to get away from him as quickly as possible," said Kyousuke as he turned towards Kakeru. He understood Satoru's words. Right now, Satoru needed to spend as much time as he could out of the house to sort out his feelings. He could not do so while Mitsuru was within a one hundred meter radius of him. He would leave if he didn't have a responsibility to the kendo school.

Like Satoru, he now encouraged Kakeru's decision.

"I will give you money, as much as you need, when you need it," said Satoru. "You're only hindering yourself if you delay any more than you need to."

"But--" Kakeru began, but he stopped himself and shook his head. He smiled forlornly. "Thank you, Satoru-niisan."

Kakeru walked out of the kitchen and into the noisy living room, where Masaru and his girlfriend Katsumi were getting ready to head to a rehearsal in Shinjiku, and Hikaru was helping Fumiko with her biology homework that she neglected to finish.

Kyousuke turned to Satoru. "Your father doesn't know about this yet. When are you planning on telling him?"

"When Kakeru wants to tell him," answered Satoru grimly. "But I need to talk to him. Father broke a promise to Kakeru when he was young and tore apart Kakeru's beliefs in everything. At the age of eight he had to rebuild his morals because of what Father had done to him and Hikaru. Maybe it's extreme of Kakeru to say that he would never forgive Father, but... twelve years..."

Satoru sighed. "Father is hurting too, Kyousuke-san. That's why I need to talk to him before Kakeru tells him that he's moving out."

"How...?"

"For the same reason Mother is upset," Satoru answered. "He's in pain because of all the reasons why Mother is angry with him. I don't know when this family will ever be restored, but the way things are going now, I... I really do mean it when I say I'm powerless to do anything. There's only one person who could replace the wooden pillars with steel to reconstruct this family. The one person we're all worried most about."

"Hikaru?"

"Hikaru."

* * *

It was seeming more and more like fate each day that Hikaru should eavesdrop on a conversation that had something to do with her father. Needless to say, she was attracted to such topics. She had yet to find the strength to face her father, but her brothers seemed to be handling it well.

That is, except for Kakeru.

It had been a week since Kakeru moved out of the Shidou household and into an apartment closer to his university. Hikaru had decided to take Umi and Fuu's advice and to talk to him before he did anything "stupid", as Umi so bluntly put it. It had been too late, but the good news was that Kakeru assured Hikaru that if their father really was even the least bit honest, he would not fight Hikaru and leave again.

A week since Hikaru had even seen her older brother... the family really was crumbling into ashes.

Hikaru stood outside the family room, listening to her father and Masaru talking. Satoru was busy teaching a class, and her mother left to run some errands. Hikaru had just gotten back from school--Umi had a fencing match immediately after her classes were over, so they couldn't go to Cephiro--so she had only just begun to listen.

"If he didn't at least visit during New Year, he would be one hell of a hypocrite," came Masaru's voice. "He was really upset when you didn't come home that holiday out of all others."

"The first New Year's that I was gone, I was in Nagasaki," her father replied. "There's a really beautiful chapel there."

Masaru groaned. "Father..."

"Masaru-san, your older brother didn't tell me when I asked, and I'm sure he asked you to not tell me either, but I need to know: what promise did I break to Kakeru-san?"

Hikaru widened her eyes. _He forgot?_

Masaru sighed. "You're right. Satoru-niisan did tell me to not tell you. I think it's really unfair, and it wouldn't make much of a difference anymore... but I can't break my word to him."

"Masaru-san. Please. I know Kakeru-san will refuse to tell me, and Hikaru-san has been avoiding me. Had I hurt her, too, with the promise I broke? If I don't know what it was, I'll go crazy. I need to know what damage I have caused."

Masaru was silent, and Hikaru held her breath. Even after Kakeru had told her that their father had no intentions on fighting her again, she kept her distance from him for a reason even she had been unsure of. But if he forgot the promise, and if the family was going to get mended again, he had to know. That had to be true; it made perfect sense to Hikaru, but Satoru was wise. She trusted his judgment.

"It wasn't just a promise," said Masaru slowly, quietly. Hikaru could barely hear him. "You also lied. You said you left for work business, when in fact you actually left because of an embarrassing defeat. Do you remember that?"

"I'll be honest. No."

Another sigh. "Father, it's a no wonder why Kakeru is angry. As for the promise, it was a fleeting one, and really, I understand why you would have forgotten. I almost did. I think it just rolled off your tongue, but the worst part about it, and I think this is why Satoru doesn't want me to tell you. You weren't sincere when you said that you would be back for Kakeru's birthday."

Hikaru almost grinned slightly at that. It did sound childish.

"I... did, didn't I? Oh, I remember now. The guilt followed me around for a while, but somewhere along the lines, I forgot all about it. I think I might have been in Hokkaido at the time. Or Kyoto--I did spend some time in Houryuuji."

"You were all over the place, weren't you?"

"Yes. But Masaru-san, I didn't lie. You know that I don't lie. Everybody thinks I left just because Hikaru-san defeated me in kendo. That's not the whole story."

"What?"

_What?_ Hikaru thought, wide-eyed. So Satoru had lied to her and Kakeru?

"But I thought," stuttered Masaru, "I thought... you left the same day that Hikaru defeated you! You never told us otherwise--"

"I did leave for business. It was for the good of the dojo if I left to become stronger. Not physically, mind you. I knew I had reached my limit. I needed to find mental strength. My quest for strength went around the route of Buddhist and Shinto shrines as well as many wise martial arts teachers. The reason I left the day Hikaru-san defeated me was because I had come to that realization. She opened my eyes."

"So, you really _did_ leave for work business?"

"Yes."

There was a slam of fists impacting a table. "So we lived with a lie for twelve years?!"

Hikaru had had enough. She threw open the rice paper door and gaped at her father, sitting at the table with Masaru standing in umbrage across from him, and cried, "Why didn't you tell Kakeru-niisama, Father?"

The fire in Masaru's eyes vanished as he turned his head towards her. "Hikaru? You heard?"

Her father looked at Hikaru wistfully. "I didn't understand Kakeru-san's feelings. I knew he was upset, and I knew that he thought it was because I came home for a rematch against you, and I knew better than to tell him because he wouldn't have believed me at the time when I really should have told him. The damage had been done, either way, and there's nothing I could--or can--do to fix it."

"This is our fault," Masaru muttered as he slumped to the floor. "Satoru-niisan and I didn't... we were so young then, we couldn't interpret things right. We saw things practically and... what have we done?"

"Masaru-niisama, it's not your fault. Really," said Hikaru. "But... Kakeru-niisama has to know. Father, it's not too late to tell Kakeru-niisama. It's never too late to ask for Kakeru-niisama's forgiveness."

"It's only too early," said her father with a small smile. "I'll tell him when he visits the family not out of obligation, but because he wants to. This is one promise I make to you now that I have every intention on keeping. I will tell Kakeru-san when he's ready to listen."

"I don't believe this," Masaru muttered.

_When he's ready..._

Hikaru didn't know how long they would have to wait, and she hoped that Kakeru would be ready to hear the truth before something tragic happened. After all, she knew better than anyone else that while it was never too late to ask for forgiveness, it was almost always too late when it came to finding the real reason for people's motives.

Cephiro had taught her that.

If only Kakeru had been there when it happened.

To Be Continued

**"Lion Heart" Trivia**: Masaru's name really does have two meanings: "tender" and "actor". I didn't find out about the "actor" meaning until about the time I wrote chapter five; I had already established Masaru's love for acting in the fourth chapter. Maybe I'm a genius. :) I kid, I kid.


	9. A Boyfriend?!

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Nine: A Boyfriend?!**_

**Bearit's Notes**: Second to the last chapter! Whew! Romance abounds in this chapter as well as humor. I apologize to Eagle x Hikaru fans, but "Lion Heart" will be Lantis x Hikaru. I had to draw the line somewhere. Read the side story "Futari ga Onaji" for details on how I made it work if you wish. This takes place a year after the events of "Futari ga Onaji." It's a good enough read for the sake of making some things more sense in the rest of "Lion Heart."

* * *

"That's that!" the director called. "Go on home; you all deserve it. Be back early tomorrow for the shooting of the next scene."

The lights in the studio brightened so that the set no longer seemed like a nostalgic oasis in the void. Spotlights lined the ceilings and video cameras surrounded the replica Meiji Era village, wires sprawled all across the concrete floor. Masaru narrowed his eyes to adjust to the brightness, but he kept his attention focused to the beautiful actress in the center of the "village: "Katsumi Aiaki.

The kimono-clad actresses laughed over some joke one of the actors made, but once Katsumi's and Masaru's eyes met, Katsumi said something to the cast and waved "bye" to them as she made her way over to him.

Masaru smirked and tightened his grip on the bouquet of flowers he held behind his back.

"You did pretty good," he said as she approached him.

"This kind of acting is easier than the kind you're doing," she replied with a smile. "You guys weren't shooting today?"

Masaru shook his head. "We did; we just got off early. Orikasa-san wasn't exactly pleased that I had to run off so quickly though. I swear, her role is rubbing off on her." He laughed.

Katsumi giggled. "Orikasa-san was probably just joking around. Was Takada-san also upset?"

Masaru put his forefinger on his chin in mock contemplation. "Come to think of it... ah, I must be popular with the girls."

"No, it's Tenchi who's popular with the girls; you're just the voice behind him," Katsumi pointed out. "I don't think I can ever handle voice acting."

"It does take a lot of skill," boasted Masaru, "which I have."

"Sure you do, Masaru."

"So--" Masaru began, but Katsumi promptly cut him off.

"Tonight Hikaru is introducing her boyfriend to the family, right?" she asked.

Masaru sighed. "Not exactly what I wanted to talk about, but yes, it is. I'm not sure what to make of the 'other world' stuff she and Umi and Fuu talked about, but I have no choice but to believe her once she brings this man home. He has the weirdest name that I forgot what it was. Oh! Speaking of which, I nearly forgot!" He handed her the bouquet. "I know you hate clichés, but I love them, so I came to a compromise."

Katsumi grasped the flowers gently. "Daisies, not roses," she murmured before she broke into laughter. "Ah, Masaru, always have to have things your way even if you have to improvise."

"You don't like sweet things," said Masaru, "so I couldn't get you chocolates or cookies or anything, and I am a little low on money ever since Mother made me pay rent."

Katsumi arched a brow. "How much did these cost?"

Masaru shrugged. "Eight thousand yen."

"You could have gotten me a cheap piece of jewelry for much less. Flowers die quicker."

"Well, I did get you something else, but before I give it to you--" Masaru took a deep breath. "--what's your answer?"

"My answer?"

"To the question I asked you last night on our date," he replied, shifting his gaze to the refreshments table sitting next to him. "If you need more time, completely understandable, but I'm losing faith by the, well, second now."

Katsumi grabbed his shoulder and pecked his cheek. "Do you want a straightforward answer or a speech?" she whispered in his ear.

"Straightforward. The speech might hurt."

"Yes."

Masaru widened his eyes, turned his head, and gaped at Katsumi. He fought off the elation that rose his heart to his throat. "Really?" Katsumi nodded. "It isn't because I gave you flowers?"

"I almost said 'no' _because_ of the flowers," said Katsumi with a giggle.

Masaru smiled. "Thank goodness you didn't," he murmured before he leaned down and kissed his new fiancée.

* * *

Yuujirou Chuutei narrowed his eyes and bent his knees, concentrating his focus on the oversized pearl Kakeru held in his hands. Yuujirou's hands tightened around the large wooden club as soon as he saw his friend pull his arm back and thrust it towards him.

Yuujirou swung at the air.

"Strike!" said Hidehiro as he threw the ball back to Kakeru.

Kakeru caught the ball easily in his raggedy mitt. "Call it a ball, Hidehiro. Yuujirou doesn't know that when the ball is below your waist, you don't swing."

Yuujirou scowled. "Shut up."

The sun loomed over the western horizon as if it were ready to give way and fall beneath the mountain range of Japan without giving crimson shades a chance to show off their brilliance. The blue sky had only begun to show signs of a golden color, and with no cloud in the dying spring heavens, the afternoon was brighter and warmer than usual. Kakeru called it the perfect day for playing baseball, and he literally dragged Yuujirou and Hidehiro to the university's baseball field for a little practicing.

He was the pitcher of his university's baseball team, and Yuujirou had to admit, one of the best the campus had ever known. If it wasn't for Kakeru's undying devotion to the sport of soccer, Yuujirou would place half of his life savings that before Kakeru was twenty-five, he would be playing for either the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers in the American Major League.

Yuujirou didn't understand why _he_ had to be the batter. If anything, Hikaru's boyfriend should be the batter, considering the great velocity put in each of Kakeru's pitches. Hidehiro could be the umpire instead of the catcher, and Yuujirou could be the catcher.

Unfortunately, Hikaru's boyfriend wouldn't be arriving until dinnertime, and Yuujirou became more and more convinced that there was more than one reason that Kakeru wanted to play baseball.

It was a dangerous subject to tread on, but Yuujirou decided to take his chances. Hey, what was the worst Kakeru could do to his best friend?

"So, Kakeru," said Yuujirou as he repositioned himself, "if Hikaru gets married to this boyfriend of hers, don't you think you ought to make amends with your father before the wedding?"

Yuujirou had almost no time to react as Kakeru fired the ball, and Yuujirou could almost swear that it was faster than a bullet. On impulse, he staggered back and tripped over his own feet as the sphere flew right in front of his nose. The bat impacted the white home base bag, and Yuujirou caught a glimpse of Hidehiro using his glove to shield his face from becoming a crater. Luckily, he managed to catch the ball.

Yuujirou panted, "I... really... shouldn't have... said that..."

Hidehiro peeled the glove away from his face and stared at Kakeru, terrified. "Th-that was a ball," he sputtered. "That was a ball, but I'm afraid to say it."

"Call it a strike, Hidehiro," said Yuujirou. "_Please_ call it a strike."

"Whoever said that she was going to marry that jerk?!" snarled Kakeru. "And there is nothing to talk to that bastard about!"

_Jerk equals Hikaru's boyfriend; bastard equals Kakeru's father_, Yuujirou told himself as he picked himself up from the dirt. _Two subjects that I need to stay away from the next time I talk to Kakeru._

"Either way," said Hidehiro, the ball still in his hands; he knew better than to give Kakeru's only weapon back to him, "it's been two years. I have never known you to keep grudges for so long. Don't you think it's time to at least get on speaking terms with your father?"

Kakeru glowered like death at Hidehiro. "Did Masaru put you two up to this?"

"No," said Yuujirou in quick defense for himself and Hidehiro. "I only figured that since Hikaru is ready to get married--quit glaring at me like that; you're scaring me--you would like to give Hikaru the best day of her life truly the best day of her life by not creating such a dark atmosphere during the wedding."

"This is only her boyfriend! Nobody said anything about an engagement!"

"Yet," muttered Hidehiro. "Come on, two years. That's fourteen years total of hallucination."

"_What_ hallucination?! There's no hallucination, damn it! And I'm sick of hearing about my father, so leave me the hell alone! Give me back my ball."

"Not if you're going to kill us with it," Hidehiro counterattacked. "Besides, you're going to have to go to your home to meet Hikaru's boyfriend, right? So why don't you--"

"Not my home," said Kakeru as he stormed towards the two. "My home is an apartment, and Hikaru is bringing the jerk to her home, which is a traditional kendo house."

"Regardless, you're going to be in the same room as him," pointed out Hidehiro.

Yuujirou nodded, and although Kakeru's menacing glare tried to prevent him from saying it, he knew he had to. "You don't want Hikaru's boyfriend to get uneasy, do you?"

"Maybe I do."

"There goes the end of that conversation," muttered Hidehiro, and all Yuujirou could do was sigh and run away from the steaming Kakeru.

* * *

It was the evening of the end of the working week, so the parking lot across the street from Tokyo Tower wasn't as crowded as it normally was. For that, Fumiko was more than happy. However, when she made the big mistake of offering Sera a ride home and let it slip that she was going to meet Hikaru and her boyfriend at Tokyo Tower, Sera insisted on coming. Fumiko could not force Sera out of the car when they arrived in front of the Araki mansion, and she refused to be late to pick up Hikaru.

So, against Fumiko's will and Hikaru's wish, Sera was present in the Tokyo Tower parking lot, giddier than ever about the wonders of Hikaru's first boyfriend.

Needless to say, after waiting for about ten minutes, Fumiko was getting annoyed.

"I wonder what he looks like," Sera mused in the passenger seat left of Fumiko. "I don't know Hikaru's type; I don't remember her ever having even a simple crush on anybody while we were in school."

"We went to an all-girl's school, Sera."

"So? She has three older brothers with a lot of friends. She could have easily fallen in love with Kyousuke-san or Yuujirou or Hidehiro--even though Rei is going out with him--or even one of Masaru-san's actor friends. But if Hikaru is Hikaru, she won't care about looks. Oh dear, what if he's fat and ugly?"

"Who knows?"

"You seem apathetic."

"_You_ really need to shut up! I swear, you can be worse than Rei sometimes. I thought geniuses like you were supposed to be shy and quiet and not talkative at all."

Sera shrugged. "So I go against the stereotype sometimes. What's your point?" Fumiko groaned. "Has Hikaru told you anything about him?"

"Only that he's out of this world," said Fumiko.

"He must be really special, then." Sera sighed dreamily. "Poor Kakeru. You know how overprotective he is over Hikaru."

Fumiko sighed, too, but out of annoyance. Oh, if only Sera knew _how _special Hikaru's boyfriend was! Fumiko had a hard time believing Hikaru at first, and Fumiko still only barely believed it, but Hikaru's boyfriend literally was out of this world. He was in the world of Cephiro, soon to be in Tokyo, and his name was one of the strangest Fumiko has ever heard: Lantis. That was all Hikaru really told her, and that was all Fumiko really cared to hear from Hikaru--everything else she'll find out from Lantis, or she'll judge for herself.

"Hey, Fumiko--"

"What?" she snapped.

"You went off in space when I mentioned Kakeru," Sera teased.

"I was trying to ignore you," said Fumiko angrily. "I knew I should have never told you that Hikaru had a boyfriend."

"Don't act like I'm stupid in social situations," said Sera, sounding just a little irritated. "I know you have a crush on him, and that's why you're meeting Hikaru right now."

"I'm meeting Hikaru because she asked me to pick her up."

That was true. Hikaru told Fumiko that she normally went to Tokyo Tower by bus and train, and she didn't want to risk losing Lantis in the Tokyo metropolis. Her other two friends that normally went with her to Tokyo Tower didn't have cars of their own, and, after all, Fumiko was Hikaru's best friend.

Somehow, though, it got a little warmer in the car. Fumiko reached for the air conditioner, but Sera's oh so tactful remark stopped her.

"You're blushing."

Fumiko clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth, "No, I am _not_!"

"Yes, you are."

"If my face looks red, it's the sunset, damn it."

"Then why were you going to turn the air conditioner up? It's not hot in here at all."

"I was going to turn it _down_," Fumiko retorted... and lied.

Sera rolled her eyes. "Sure you were."

"I swear you switched personalities with Rei today!" growled Fumiko.

"You still aren't denying the _fact_ that you're in love with--oh, look! Here comes Hikaru!"

Fumiko turned and stared out the window, and sure enough, stepping into the parking lot was Hikaru with two other girls and a, Fumiko had to admit, very handsome man. He made the three girls accompanying him look like elementary kids, for Hikaru only barely reached midway up his chest. He seemed like a dark man--which Fumiko would never suspect Hikaru would go for--only because he had raven hair and wore completely dark clothing with black boots. There was nothing too strange about his clothes otherwise, but Fumiko felt that he really was from another world.

"Wow," breathed Sera, "Hikaru really does have good taste!"

Fumiko sighed. "Watch. I'm going to end up not liking him. He's probably a jerk when he's not around Hikaru--or even with her around."

"I think I'm beginning to understand now why you and Kakeru would make such a cute couple."

"Something is keeping me from seriously hurting you," growled Fumiko, "and I want to know what it is."

"Fumiko-chan!" called Hikaru as she jogged towards the car. Fumiko rolled down the window, to which Hikaru stopped and peered inside. "I'm glad you could make it. Ah, Sera-chan! What are you doing here?"

"Good evening!" Sera chirped. "When I heard that you had a boyfriend, I had to see for myself!"

Fumiko rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hikaru," she said. "I really shouldn't have told her..."

"That's okay!" said Hikaru. "I'm not ashamed to hide Lantis from anybody. Does Rei-chan know?"

Fumiko shook her head. "Rei doesn't know, and--" Fumiko dropped her voice to a whisper. "--I didn't tell Sera about Cephiro. She thinks Lantis is just a normal Japanese guy despite the weird name."

Hikaru giggled, and by that time, Lantis had finally approached them. The other two girls that had accompanied him had called Hikaru and told her that they were on their way to the train station to get home. Fumiko would offer them a ride if it hadn't been for the fact that with Sera tagging along, the car was too full unless somebody sat in someone's lap. Kakeru would not be pleased with that idea if he was the same Kakeru Fumiko had always known: too damned overprotective over his sister for his own good.

Hikaru waved goodbye to her friends. Fumiko had to stick her head out of the window to get a better view of Lantis's face. She arched a brow as soon as she caught a glimpse of it; his eyes were warm although his facial expression was cold, much like somebody that she would know. But who? She hardly befriended people like that.

"It's rude to be in the car like this," she muttered as she released her seatbelt and opened the car door. After she stepped out of the car, she smiled at Lantis and said, "You must be Lantis. I'm Fumiko Tachiiri, Hikaru's friend. I--" She bit her lip and cringed; she was about to say the wrong choice of words. "I would be lying if I said I heard so much about you."

Lantis cracked a small smile, but if he was going to say anything, he was cut off by Sera. "Hikaru, I must say, you have better taste in men that I gave you credit for!"

Fumiko sighed and slapped herself as Hikaru grinned sheepishly. "You idiot, Sera," Fumiko said with a sigh. "All right, all right. Hikaru, your family's probably waiting for you, and the traffic is about to get bad. We'll get acquainted in the car. Grab a seat in the back."

Fumiko slid back into the car, and Hikaru and Lantis piled into the back seat. The ride home was blissfully slow because while the traffic was slow, Fumiko and Sera were treated to the most unusual conversation during the ride.

Needless to say, Fumiko wondered how Hikaru's brothers, of all people, were going to take the strange tale of Cephiro.

* * *

It was hard to believe, but Masaru somehow found the tale of Cephiro to be quite true. Of course Hikaru had mentioned it a couple of nights before when she announced that she was going to try to bring her boyfriend to Tokyo, so it hadn't really come as that much of a surprise to anybody. Well, that is, except for Kakeru, who gaped at Lantis and sputtered to come up with some coherent words in some sort of protest. Hikaru only smiled brightly as she introduced Lantis to the entire family, including Katsumi and Kyousuke.

Kakeru's fish-like face turned into an instant glare once their father invited Lantis in. Masaru almost found the transformation hilarious, but because he knew the circumstances of Kakeru's emotions, he didn't laugh. Instead, he cringed and followed everyone else inside, afraid of saying anything.

_Maybe it was a very bad thing that I invited Katsumi along_, Masaru thought as he watched his father bombard Lantis with questions.

The Shidou mother, Katsumi, and Hikaru were busy in the kitchen. He could barely hear the women's excited chatter over the clanging of pots and pans. Luckily, everybody else was fairly quiet. Satoru and Kyousuke listened and sometimes contributed to the conversation between the Shidou father and Lantis. Masaru saw from the corner of his eye Kakeru fuming in his seat. He followed his younger brother's gaze and saw that it went to their father, not Lantis.

Very odd indeed, even if Kakeru loathed his father.

Masaru checked his watch. "Wow, nearly an hour since they got here," he muttered. He scooted closer to Kakeru and whispered, "Hey, Kakeru, I'm surprised you haven't attacked Lantis yet."

"I have no problems with Lantis," Kakeru replied, much to Masaru's surprise.

"But, wait, I thought your 'sole purpose in life' was to protect Hikaru from any guy who dared make a move on her," said Masaru. "You're being really strange tonight."

"It's not that," said Kakeru, still looking straight ahead at the two eldest men--or so Masaru assumed; Lantis seemed to be older than Satoru and Kyousuke. "It's just that, well, doesn't Lantis remind you just a little _too_ much of Satoru?"

Masaru arched a brow and turned to his father and Lantis once again. He stole a peek at Satoru, and he did notice some sort of resemblance between his older brother and his sister's boyfriend. Both seemed distant, cold, and yet there was some sort of warmth about them that was very attractive. They were like the tunnel and the light at the end of it; it was a little unnerving, Masaru had to admit. Since he had nothing to say about that, he only shrugged.

Kakeru, however, was not finished. He mumbled, "I hope Hikaru realizes how disturbing this is, her so-called 'boyfriend' being just like the long lost twin of her eldest brother."

Masaru had nothing to say to that, either, and found it more beneficial to change the subject.

"Sheesh," he said with a sigh. "Fine, I'll threaten the poor guy for you."

He felt Kakeru's gaze finally tearing away from his father and staring at him. "And here I thought you respected Satoru."

Before Masaru could bring up anything of any sort to Lantis, the Shidou father beat him for a final judgment call. "Well, I find you worthy enough for my daughter." He smiled. "I bid you two the greatest of happiness."

To that, Kakeru finally responded by pounding the table with a fist and shouted: "Well, I _don't_!"

Masaru snapped his head towards Kakeru, wide-eyed and mouth ajar. The room had gotten silent, and only the sounds of the girls in the kitchen could be heard. After only a couple of seconds, Masaru groaned and slapped his forehead.

"You would do anything to disagree with Father, won't you?" he growled in a low whisper.

Kakeru continued, apparently deciding to ignore Masaru, "Just because her father likes you doesn't mean that _I_ do." Masaru wanted to say that the one of the reasons why Kakeru didn't like Lantis was because his father did but decided to keep his mouth shut. He also wanted to point out that he was just comparing Lantis to Satoru but said nothing about that, either. "And if this whole 'another world' crap _is_ true, and if there are dangers that are worse than the worst that can appear here on Earth, how will _I_ know you truly have the potential to protect my only sister?"

Masaru felt pressured to choose between empathy for Lantis and relief that Kakeru was finally acting like he always planned to when Hikaru first brought a boy--or in this case, man--home. The only thing he managed to do was to look back and forth between Lantis and Kakeru as the conversation ensued.

Lantis sighed. "Hikaru can take care of herself," he said, "but I would protect her with my life if the situation came down to it."

"Not good enough," Kakeru said, snarling, his face in a dark glower. "I want you to prove it."

"Prove it?"

There was yet another moment of uncomfortable silence, to which Masaru used to his advantage to catch everybody's expressions. Kakeru looked at Lantis, challenging, while Lantis seemed baffled in the way Satoru would look with the same emotions: one eyebrow arched, his eyes twinkling with controversy. Masaru's father shook his head, and Satoru had sighed in some form of disappointment. Kyousuke, Masaru noticed, seemed very amused but was doing everything within his power not to show it. The girls were still oblivious to the happenings in the living room.

Masaru sighed. "Oh, for crying out loud..."

Luckily for Masaru, Satoru had a better choice of words that would be the most logical ones to ask. "Kakeru, how do you expect Lantis-san to do that?"

"I don't know," said Kakeru, his narrowed eyes still locked on Lantis. "Enlighten me."

Masaru's father sighed. "Kakeru-san, this is not the place to begin a fight, and this is not the time to be challenging a guest you only just met to a duel. If you want your proof, I suggest that you should go with Hikaru-san sometime to Cephiro."

"Good idea," said Masaru, promptly cutting Kakeru off. He knew what Kakeru was going to say, anyway. "But, Father, you should have told Satoru or Lantis or even me that. You shouldn't have said it yourself. You know Kakeru; he's a moron."

This time, Kakeru turned his glare of daggers onto Masaru. Masaru only shrugged innocently and gave Satoru a pitiful plea of help.

Satoru responded, "Kakeru, Father's right, and you know it."

That wasn't the rebuttal to Kakeru's potential argument that Masaru wanted. Those were dangerous words Satoru had just spoken; Kakeru was going to explode again, this time ranting and raving about how their father was never right in his ideas and decisions, which would imply the one thing that obviously Hikaru would have never told Lantis and something that Lantis probably should never know. Masaru groaned and slumped his head to the table, but Kakeru's grumble of "fine" made him jump to his feet; that was something he had _not_ expected.

Masaru gaped at the top of Kakeru's head, but Kakeru ignored the abrupt movement the middle brother had just made. "How does tomorrow sound?" Kakeru asked Lantis.

To that, Masaru fell to the ground. After he gathered himself together, ridding his emotions of disbelief, he slapped Kakeru upside the head. "He _just_ got here _today_, you idiot!"

"What? I can't wait forever, you know!" Kakeru protested, waving a fist in Masaru's face. "I need to know as soon as possible if he's worthy of my little sister!"

"Can't 'as soon as possible' wait until next _month_, then?" asked Masaru, his aggravation growing.

Kakeru looked skeptical. "You want to wait that long?"

"I'm waiting that long to see if he's not worthy of Hikaru," Masaru snapped. "Since my priorities for Lantis are not as outrageous at yours--"

That was when Kakeru blew up again. "'_Outrageous_'?! He's from another world!"

"He's still a normal guy, so I have normal priorities for him, such as would he be able to provide for Hikaru, would he be able to make her happy, and other things like that!"

"He's _not_ normal! He doesn't even come from a normal place! You have to go for more, damn it!"

"U-um..." a young female voice sputtered, immediately gaining the attention of Masaru.

He turned his head, and he felt the anger plummet from his face when he saw his younger sister standing by the table. Kakeru's steam also cooled off, and the two brothers sang together innocently, "Hikaru-_chan_!"

"What..." she began, confused as to what Masaru and Kakeru had just been arguing about.

"Never mind," said Kyousuke. His face was still puckered to prevent laughter. _That was so not amusing just now_, Masaru thought. "Sit down, sit down, we were just talking about you."

Hikaru hesitantly sat down, still staring at Masaru and Kakeru with wide eyes of puzzlement. No sooner she had done so did Kakeru take the opportunity to let Kyousuke's words of assurance slap back into his own face. He began questioning Hikaru and Lantis as he leaned over the tabletop with determination to get what he wanted.

Masaru sighed and turned to Satoru and Kyousuke helplessly. Obviously, Kakeru was not going to be one of Lantis's favorite people, and judging from the look on his face, Satoru thought so as well.

* * *

"I can take care of myself!" said Hikaru to Kakeru's interrogation. "So can Lantis, and even then, we have everybody else in Cephiro to help us. I'll always have Umi-chan and Fuu-chan."

"So Umi and Fuu also go to and from Cephiro with you," said Kakeru. "At least you aren't alone. I know you're safe with Fuu... and Umi, even. She fences, right?"

"Kakeru-niisama," said Hikaru, laughing a little to break the tension, "don't worry about me. I'm sure the worst that could happen in Cephiro has already happened. Look, we're still alive."

Kakeru pouted. He was not convinced yet, not even after Lantis and Hikaru described some of the things they had gone through together. This whole concept of Cephiro was unbelievable, but when Kakeru actually came face-to-face with Lantis, there was just something telling him that it was no fantasy story Hikaru had weaved or a melodramatic tale to describe how she first met Lantis or anything like that. If it had been just an ordinary guy, Kakeru would accuse Masaru of being in way too many productions for his own good, and this sort of discomfort wouldn't unsettle Kakeru so much. It was one of the main reasons why he really disliked Lantis at the moment.

Well, that and because his father approved so much of him, but Kakeru wasn't entirely that shallow. He had other reasons.

Kakeru had once said before that he thought that a normal man was not worthy of Hikaru, and he had yet to forget it. Lantis was not a typical guy, that was what he had just told Masaru, and that was another reason why Kakeru hated him. He was afraid that Lantis really was worthy, and he was not ready to let go of his little sister so soon. He was only her first boyfriend, for crying out loud!

Kakeru had changed his standards immediately after meeting Lantis and getting to know him a little bit better. It was only just now did he realize that while he had them ridiculously high before, now his standards for any boy Hikaru would have to date were impossible to meet. It was almost if he didn't want Hikaru to ever have a boyfriend, and Kakeru soon found himself disgusted at what he had done to himself and what he would have done to Hikaru if he had never realized it and acted on his initial feelings any further.

He would have hurt Hikaru's feelings, just like his father had done fourteen years ago. Maybe he would have done worse.

Kakeru scowled. He didn't want to become what his father was: an insensitive man who only cared about his desires rather than anyone else's feelings. If he criticized Lantis harshly, Hikaru would have been hurt. Kakeru could tell she really did care for him, and things would have gotten uglier than two years ago when Kakeru's father returned home if Kakeru had censured the man she loved more than any other.

Kakeru was losing his sister, but he decided that he shouldn't be selfish any longer and to let her live her life.

"Hikaru," Kakeru began. She looked at him adorably innocently, which made his next words all the more difficult to say. "Are you happy with him?"

If Lantis were any other human on the face of the planet save for Satoru, Kakeru could have sworn that he would have gaped. It surely was a change of subject, from a harsh cross-examination over the safety of his sister to his sister's romantic happiness. Lantis stared at Kakeru with furrowed brows, but he, like Kakeru, let Hikaru answer.

"Yes," she said without hesitation. That didn't make Kakeru feel any better.

"Are you sure?" Kakeru asked. Hikaru nodded, and Kakeru sighed. "Would you want to spend the rest of your life with him?"

Hikaru blushed furiously. "Y-yes. Of course."

Kakeru sighed. That was it, then. He had no choice but to let her go. "I guess I'll have to respect that," he said. He turned to Lantis and glared at him--again. "That doesn't mean I like you. I don't. You still have to prove yourself to me, but I won't try to murder you or even challenge you to a duel or anything. That is, unless you make her cry. If you do that, I will find a way to Cephiro and kill you ten times and let you live for five years before you actually die. Do. You. Hear. Me?"

Lantis smiled. "In that case, you shouldn't be planning my funeral within the next five millennia. The last thing I ever want to do is to hurt Hikaru."

"We'll see about that," Kakeru grumbled just as his mother and Katsumi walked into the living room with dinner.

* * *

The rest of the night went by quite peacefully otherwise.

When everybody who didn't live in the house returned home, including Kakeru, Mitsuru showed Lantis to the room where he would be staying during the weekends he decided to visit. Like all of the other rooms in the Fahren-esque house, the bedroom was modest. The bed was only a mattress sprawled in the middle of the floor with thick blankets and a very tiny pillow set atop it. There were two dressers against the wall, and a window in the center of the far wall with the moonlight spraying inside elegantly.

While the city of Tokyo reminded Lantis almost too much of Autozam with only half the pollution, Hikaru's home seemed more like a mix between Fahren and Cephiro. The scenery in the yard was like Cephiro while the rest of the house and the atmosphere was much like the attitude of the middleclass citizens of Fahren.

Lantis walked to the window and stared at the trees in the Shidou's backyard while he reflected over Hikaru's family. They were a rather interesting bunch, and it was a wonder how Hikaru turned out the way she had, but while each member of the family was completely different, she really did fit in somehow and was graciously loved by everybody.

Mitsuru, her father, was a very wise and kind man, but Lantis sensed that there was something darker within him. Kakeru's attitude towards him and the comment Masaru made about that only confirmed it, but Lantis knew better than to ask. If they wanted to tell him, then they would tell him. Mitsuru also had a unique streak of mischief and politely teased Lantis when it was appropriate to do so. Lantis knew that he had been joking, so he offered a small smile and sometimes a chuckle or two when Mitsuru did so.

Lantis had yet to form an opinion on Hikaru's mother. She hadn't talked much and spent most of her time in the kitchen. Mitsuru had told her to just sit down and have fun with everybody else. She snapped back, telling him that she was perfectly fine taking care of the chores. Katsumi and Hikaru always offered to help, and depending on the task, she agreed to it or she told them to stay put. All Lantis could say about her was that she was a very hard-working woman, and it was easy to see where Hikaru had inherited her persistence.

Hikaru's brothers, Satoru, Masaru, and Kakeru, were a completely different story all together.

Satoru seemed to be more mature than any other person in the house, and if it hadn't been for the wrinkles on Mitsuru's face and the youthful sternness on Satoru's, Lantis surely would have been confused as to who was the father and who was the eldest brother of Hikaru. He stayed silent most of the time, poker-faced, even, and the only times he really showed any emotion besides distance was when he interacted with Kyousuke. Lantis at first didn't know what to make out of the relationship between Kyousuke and Satoru, but as the night wore on, he saw that it was very much like the one he had shared with Eagle during the time he had visited Autozam.

Masaru was a very interesting person. He had a wide variety of interests, and his spirit was very eclectic as well. He carried empathy for everybody who got involved in the conversations; he didn't know which side to turn to. Oftentimes he took his own side in the arguments, which was everybody's side. Masaru would make for a great diplomat.

Kakeru was deeper than he first came off to be, and Lantis had seen through him after a while. It wasn't just that he thought that Lantis was unworthy of Hikaru--as true as though it may be--it was just that he apparently had a very close relationship with her and was afraid that Lantis was going to take it all away. He loved Hikaru dearly and seemed even just a little more overprotective over her than he probably should be. While Kakeru may not like him, Lantis respected and found himself loving Kakeru like a younger brother he never had already; he had a very high-flying spirit.

Lantis found himself longing for a family much like Hikaru's; Zagato had been the last relative of his left, and then he fell in love with Princess Emeraude. That was when Lantis knew he had lost Zagato because he knew of the consequences for falling in love with the Pillar, and that was why he left Cephiro almost immediately after discovering their love for each other.

"Lantis?"

He turned and saw Hikaru peeking her head into the room. "Hikaru," he greeted with a smile. "What are you doing up?"

She grinned as she invited herself into the room. "I forgot to say goodnight to you," she answered when she reached his side, "and I could ask you the same thing. What were you doing here?"

"Just thinking," he answered, "about your family. They really do seem to care about you deeply."

"They do," Hikaru said. "I have never felt unloved whenever I was in their presence. There were some bad times, but my brothers and I managed to overcome those obstacles together."

"That's good to hear." Lantis remembered a piece of conversation from earlier and decided to ask Hikaru about it. "What do you say to bringing your brothers to Cephiro sometime?"

To that proposition, Hikaru brightened to shine more than the moonlight. "That's a great idea!"

_Hopefully by then_, Lantis thought, _Eagle would have finally woken up._

With that, a twinge of sadness entered Lantis's heart. Hikaru could never seem to choose between him and Eagle, but when Eagle told Hikaru that he didn't love her in that way, the choice had been easier to make. When Lantis confronted him later about it, Eagle replied, "All I want is your happiness, Lantis, and it would be no fair if you had to share."

He really did love Hikaru, Lantis could tell, and if they did had to "share" Hikaru, he wondered how her brothers would have reacted to that.

_Indeed_, Lantis thought, _it's a very good thing that Mitsuru had brought up Kakeru going to Cephiro sometime._

To Be Continued

**"Lion Heart" Trivia**: After doing a bit of research on the Internet, I found that Masaru's seiyuu, Kikuchi Masami, is the voice actor for Tenchi in "Tenchi Muyo!", so, yes, Masaru really _did_ do Tenchi's voice. (Orikasa Ai plays Ryoko, and Tadaka Yumi plays Ayeka.) He also plays Keiichi in "Oh! My Goddess". Satoru's seiyuu, Tobita Nobuo, plays Daisuke/Hiiragi in "Please Save My Earth"; Kakeru's seiyuu, Chiba Isshin, plays General Septem and various other roles in "Gundam Wing". I like Google no da.

**"Lion Heart" Trivia 2**: Fumiko, Rei, and Sera have shown up in both the anime and manga of Magic Knight Rayearth. They appear in the first (at the very beginning) and third (at the very end) volumes of the manga. They have also shown up in the first episode of the first season, though I'm not sure about episode 20. I haven't seen the entire anime series; only the entire second half.


	10. Another World

_**Lion Heart: Chapter Ten: Another World**_

**Bearit's Notes**: Finally, finally the last chapter of "Lion Heart" is up! More than a month later than I wanted to finish it, but, um, it's finished, and I'm happy. Oh, no, it's never _completely_ finished. Believe me; my muses are demanding that I write more side stories (two are already up: "Ore no Shin'yuu" and "Futari ga Onaji")... and I even have a sequel planned. I'm not done with Hikaru's brothers yet! Egad, this is forever and ever more going to be my pet project. _sigh_

(Oh, and if you're wondering about the relationship (_platonic_ relationship; they aren't involved, despite being different genders) between two characters, read "Futari ga Onaji" for details, k?)

* * *

"I think I'm disturbed again," Kakeru muttered, walking side-by-side with Masaru. Masaru looked at his younger brother quizzically, wondering what on Earth he could possibly be referring to. He made a safe bet when it was something about that Eagle Vision character. "I really, really, really am disturbed again."

"What are you talking about?" Masaru asked with a sigh. He made sure that nobody could hear; the two younger Shidou brothers were trailing behind Satoru, Lantis, and Hikaru as they led the way to somewhere in this... odd... fantasy-like palace.

"Lantis reminds me of Satoru..."

"As if I didn't know that already."

"And Eagle reminds me of _Kyousuke_," Kakeru whined, tightly shutting his eyes.

Masaru arched a brow and gave Kakeru a funny look. "I'm going to have to disagree with you there."

"What's worse is that Eagle's in love with Hikaru," Kakeru continued as if he hadn't heard Masaru. "What if Kyousuke--"

"He doesn't."

"But--"

"Trust me, Kakeru, Kyousuke has somebody else he's in love with," said Masaru, knowing exactly where Kakeru was trying to go with this.

It disturbed Masaru after he reminded himself that Lantis and Hikaru had plans to get married and how Lantis reminded Kakeru so much of Satoru, so he knew that he had to convince Kakeru otherwise. It was true, though, when he said that Kyousuke was in love with someone else, but Masaru decided that if Kakeru had yet to figure out who it was then he had no right to know.

Kakeru scowled but went no further with his complaints.

Masaru sighed. "Besides, what the hell are you going to do to a guy in a coma?"

"Maybe I'll... well... it isn't exactly a coma!" Kakeru snapped. "That weird in-the-mind talk--"

"Telepathy."

"Shut up; I knew that."

Masaru laughed as an archway came into view. The sun was already setting, so the lighted room seemed yellow as he drew nearer and nearer.

Actually, it didn't seem much like a room. It seemed more like a garden. There was much greenery and the oddest plants that Masaru had only seen in picture books of South America. Visible from a hundred meters outside, which Masaru only guessed they were from the room, was a huge, beautiful water fountain. It was a standard type; nothing was fancy about it. But it was huge, and that's what attracted him the most. He only saw miniscule water fountains indoors. Also, gathered around the cement structure were several people, and the two people approaching them was Umi and some really, really big guy. Taller than Lantis, yes. Buffer, yes.

Masaru decided that he was one person he didn't want to upset.

Umi hurried to the group, and in one fluid motion she grabbed Hikaru's arm and dragged her away from the garden/room/whatever.

"Hikaru, I have to tell you something _real quick_!" she hissed as she passed Masaru and Kakeru. Before Kakeru could protest, the tall, muscular man diverted his attention.

"Sheesh," he said with a sigh. "Umi's really paranoid about this. It isn't _that_ bad."

Kakeru snapped his head toward him. "That bad what?" he asked through suspicious teeth.

"It actually isn't bad at all. Umi's just... well... jumpy, I guess," the man shrugged. He turned to Lantis with a small smile. "Hey, haven't seen you in a while."

"I didn't expect you to be here today," Lantis replied. "Is Zazu here?"

The man nodded. "Yes. And Tatra and Tarta. And Aska and her advisors. Oh, _and_ your little fairy thing is looking for you. That sums about all of the reasons why Umi's paranoid right now."

Masaru and Kakeru stole a glance at each other. "Fairy?" they asked each other simultaneously. They turned back to Lantis and the man. "Fairy?"

Satoru sighed. "Expect everything here, isn't that what Hikaru told us?"

"Yeah, but..." Kakeru said, but Satoru shook his head, which always got him to simmer down.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Somehow, that always happens with at least one person. I'm Geo Metro. You must be Hikaru's brothers, I'm guessing."

Kakeru tilted his head. "Umi told you, didn't she?" he asked, and quietly, to Masaru, he hissed, "Isn't 'Geo Metro' a car brand of some sort?"

Masaru, after stifling a laugh, shrugged and decided to return the favor. "And I'm Masaru Shidou, one of Hikaru's brothers. The middle one. That's our older brother Satoru, and this is my younger brother Kakeru. And... um..." Masaru looked around. "That's... all I have to introduce to you."

"Idiot," Kakeru muttered.

"Shut up."

Geo laughed as Hikaru and Umi returned to the group. Hikaru looked very confused while Umi was fuming with some sort of rage that Masaru could only pinpoint after she burst out to Geo:

"She doesn't realize how weird everything is going to be!" she snapped.

Ah, that's it. Irritation.

"I don't see how it's going to be weird, Umi," Geo replied with a shake of his head.

Umi stared at Geo for a moment, and then she sighed in exasperation. "I'd call you blind if I didn't know you any better." That earned a smile from Lantis and a chuckle from Geo.

"I'd call you paranoid if I didn't know you any better... wait a second. I know you just as well as anybody else, and I'm still calling you that--hey!" Geo exclaimed as Umi punched him in the arm.

"This is why you're never going to get a girlfriend."

"Not one like you, at least. I wonder how men manage to survive around short-tempered women..."

Masaru arched a brow and turned to Hikaru. "Hey, are those two... well... interested in each other? Romantically?"

Hikaru shook her head rapidly. "No, they're just like brother and sister to each other. Umi told me once that she always wished that she had an older brother, and, well, I guess she found one." Hikaru smiled brightly and started to jog towards the garden-room thing. "Everybody's here today! That's great, so I want you to meet them all!"

"'Everybody?'" Masaru and Kakeru asked, but Hikaru was already in the fountain room. Both of the younger brothers turned to Satoru and Lantis. Satoru had a small smile as he watched Hikaru's retreating figure, so Lantis answered.

"Everybody that we know from all four of the countries," said Lantis. "Cephiro isn't the only land in this 'other world'. You already know about Autozam. Geo is also from there. You also have Chizeta and Fahren. You'll meet them all within time."

"But... everybody?" asked Kakeru. "Wouldn't that be a lot of people?"

Umi, apparently having overheard that, turned and nodded. "Yes, which is exactly why--"

"You're paranoid," Geo put in for her and laughed when she glared at him.

Masaru grinned. "Cephiro really is one interesting place. I'm so going to have fun tonight!"

* * *

Kakeru knew that he was going to get more and more shocks for the rest of his life.

There were many things that Hikaru didn't tell the family about Cephiro, and it wasn't until just that night did Kakeru actually find out how many different situations she must have come across during her adventures in this strange world.

He had absolutely nothing against anybody yet. How could he when he barely even knew anything about them or their connection with his little sister? Besides, most of the people from 'countries' other than Cephiro were women, and he had no concerns with any of the men from the other nationalities. Zazu and the Chinese-looking kid were much too young, and Geo, besides seeming unconsciously interested in one of the two Arabian-looking sisters, was much too old.

Kakeru decided to ignore how old Lantis must be. He didn't feel like hating anybody else tonight.

He was silent during the conversation among everybody but a few other people and himself. The younger 'Arabian' sister kept silent like him as Masaru seemed to be doing some sort of interview with the older sister about their country. Kakeru forgot the name of their country, but it seemed somewhere along the lines of 'zesta.' Kakeru was nervous to find out; he was sure Masaru was going to tease him or something. Or worse, Umi would. Or both might. Either way, he wanted to enjoy himself and getting upset with his older brother or his little sister's friend would not be the best way to do so.

Kakeru looked around the room and found Satoru talking with the "Chinese" group as well as some people who were obviously from Cephiro. It was easy to tell by their clothes. Hikaru and Lantis were also with them. Kakeru found himself yearning to go over there, but the reason he didn't was because it seemed like... boring stuff. At least Masaru was somehow making his more interesting.

"Bored, aren't you?" the younger 'Arabian' sister asked. Kakeru nodded idly. "It could be worse. A whole lot worse. At least Tatra is being... more herself than an airhead who's trying to hide her feelings."

"An airhead?"

"Until after the invasion, she put up this front that really pissed me off," she replied. "I think those Autozam people had something to do with it."

Kakeru blinked and frowned. "Invasion? What invasion? What?"

"Never mind. It's in the past. Say, I forgot your name..."

"Kakeru," he offered. "Sorry, I forgot your name, too."

"Tarta."

"Tarta?" Kakeru asked to confirm it. She nodded. "Tarta... Tarta... okay, got it. I hope I don't forget it this time. How is it I can remember those two--" He nodded towards Geo and Zazu. "--names better than I can anyone else's?"

Tarta shrugged. "Well, in my case, when your older sister is head over heels for one of them, you learn the names quickly. But... I don't know what your case is."

"You resent your sister being in love with somebody else?" asked Kakeru, taking note of her disgusted tone.

Tarta paused and bit her lip. "What would happen if I said 'yes'?"

Kakeru sighed. "Nothing. I know how you feel. The only difference is that you're the younger sister with this dilemma, and I'm the older brother."

"The older brother has a better excuse than the younger sister," Tarta said. "So, you really don't appreciate Hikaru's relationship with Lantis?"

Kakeru scowled. He was supposed to not get upset, but the conversation with Tarta was probably worth it in order to keep from being too bored. Maybe he should have butted into Masaru and Tarta's older sister's conversation. A yelling match really does sound pretty good.

"I don't appreciate anything about this place, to tell you the truth," Kakeru admitted, glancing around the place again. "She first came to this place during a field trip to Tokyo Tower, and after that field trip, she was... the complete opposite of Hikaru. She was like Yami or something. Gloomy. I know this place has something to do with it, yet at the same time, she always loves coming here. I wish I knew why... the thing that really irritates me is that Umi and Fuu know exactly what it was, and neither of them will tell me. Nobody's telling me anything."

Tarta offered Kakeru a weak smile. "Tatra once told me that we all need our secrets. I can only imagine how much she's hiding from me, but there's a lot I never share with her, either. And if it bothers Hikaru so much to talk about it, and Umi and Fuu likewise, why should you force it out of them?"

"Because--"

"You're worried. I hate worrywarts, just so you know, Kakeru. What's more, I don't like overprotective people. Better watch your step, 'kay?" Tarta winked with a playful smirk and lightly punched Kakeru on the shoulder. He frowned.

"I'm not... over... protective," he protested. "And... I'm not... a worrywart..."

He knew that Tarta could hear him, but she seemed to enjoy ignoring him. Or pretending she never heard him. It was the same thing; Kakeru knew that he was really out of it. Like he did for many other things, he blamed that exclusively on Cephiro.

However, the playful exchange Tarta gave Kakeru did not go unnoticed. Masaru's and Tarta's older sister's attentions were caught by it, and Kakeru knew for certain that going through the entire evening without being irritated was an impossible goal. Now that he thought about it, when was the last time he went an entire day without getting upset at all?

"Hey, hey, what's this?" Masaru said, laughing. "I see my little brother has finally gotten up the courage to have a civilized talk with a woman. Is she your future girlfriend?"

"_What_?" Kakeru snarled. He didn't know if Tarta had said the same thing or not, but by the scowl on her face, he decided to think she had.

Tarta's older sister, however, didn't seem to mind Tarta's deadly glare. "How cute!" she said, clapping her hands together. "Ne, Geo-san, Umi, don't you think those two would be so adorable together?"

Geo shifted uncomfortably, seeming unsure whether to play along with the teasing or to just stay out of it. Kakeru decided that he really was smarter than he looked. Umi stifled a guffaw that was threatening to emerge. Zazu might as well have fallen to the ground, rolling around in the grass. The older 'Arabian' sister giggled at her flustered sister. It was only a matter of a couple of seconds before Tarta finally rid her system of temper and sighed.

"I swear, this is why it's impossible for me to befriend anybody of the male species," she muttered.

"'Species?'" Kakeru asked, dumbfounded. "'Species?'"

Again, Tarta ignored him. Kakeru really hated it when women insulted men, and he wondered what Tarta's experiences with men were. Obviously not good, otherwise this wouldn't be such an awkward situation... or to Umi and Zazu, very hilarious.

"Oh, come on, Tarta," said Umi, laughing a little but her voice carrying reassurance. "We were just joking."

"Hey, Zazu, quit it," Geo said, grabbing the back of his younger friend's neck. "What have I told you about women's fury?"

"Sorry," he replied, obviously not very since tears still streamed down his face and the smile having yet to wipe away. "It's just that the thought of Tarta... with a... a... a boyfriend..." And he cracked up again.

"Whazzat suppose ta mean?!" Tarta screamed, making Zazu laugh all the harder and Kakeru and Geo flinch.

Kakeru sighed. "And Hikaru is actually friends with these people? I... I don't believe it."

"Well, I still can't believe that Hikaru has an older brother like you, so I really don't think you have a place to talk," Umi put in, and Kakeru glared at her. She smiled mischievously and said nothing more. Kakeru decided that wasting his breath in an argument with her would probably not be a good idea, so he kept silent while Tarta was teased further on the subject of men.

* * *

Satoru smiled at his two younger brothers by the group of fruit trees as a loud commotion erupted from their little group. Despite the miniscule quarrels, all of them, even the ones who seemed to be angrier than the others, were enjoying themselves immensely. The bliss, while hidden pretty well for anybody who didn't know any better, was genuinely golden, and Satoru couldn't pinpoint a time when Masaru and Kakeru were happier. Even if they --especially Kakeru-- didn't want to admit it, Cephiro was one place where troubles could go away. Satoru, for one, was happy that Hikaru finally found the best place in existence to spend the rest of her life.

It wasn't just the magical land itself, but it was the people who lived in it or the people who visited it that made it all the worthwhile. Satoru had yet to become thoroughly acquainted with anybody but the people of Autozam, Chizeta, Fahren, and maybe a few others from Cephiro like Lantis, Prince Ferio, Ascot, and Clef, but it was enough to know that the friends Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu made were better than most that could be found on Earth.

Satoru was not oblivious to Kakeru's comparison between Kyousuke and Eagle, nor was he sure whether he agreed with them or not. Kakeru was not a shallow boy; he wasn't trying to find uncanny similarities for the sake of being freaked out based on appearances alone. Sure, Kyousuke and Eagle looked somewhat like each other. The only three differences that Satoru could pick out were their body build --Eagle was frail, while Kyousuke was robust-- the eye color --Kyousuke's was green, and he was unsure what Eagle's was-- and the length of the hair. Kyousuke wore his hair straight and down to the bottom of his chin. It used to be to his shoulders, but Kyousuke had decided to cut it. Eagle had his hair short like any other man would. Other than that, everything down to skin tone and hair color were nearly exactly the same.

After thinking about it for a little while, Satoru knew that Kakeru really wasn't searching too deeply in-between the lines. There were some similarities with Kyousuke's and Eagle's personality. Both had a seemingly never-ending optimism that could fluctuate between genuine and gilded depending on the subject at hand. Eagle was more jubilant with his words, while Kyousuke always had a pained look in his eyes in most cases. And while it was obvious that Eagle was in love with Hikaru but never did anything about it for the sake of Lantis's and Hikaru's happiness, Kyousuke's romantic life remained a complete mystery to Satoru. Surely Kyousuke wanted Satoru to be happy with a woman, but there was something else behind those words and efforts that Satoru could never pinpoint. He doubted that he ever would be able to figure it out.

However, despite the coma, Eagle seemed to have a less tragic atmosphere about him than Kyousuke. All of Kyousuke's friends from high school no longer kept in touch, and Satoru was all he had left and vice versa. Eagle had two very close friends that visited him often: Geo and Zazu. In a strange and unnerving sense, the two acted a lot like the mixed personalities of all of Kyousuke's friends. Loud but not obnoxious, carefree yet caring, and always looking for fun but only at the appropriate moments.

The two princesses of Chizeta, Tatra and Tarta, were an unlikely match to be sisters, but when Satoru considered his brothers and sister, their kinship actually seemed quite normal. Like everybody else in Cephiro and those who visited the land, despite their outward appearances, they were really kind people at heart. For whatever reason the two girls may be doing it for, most likely for sovereignty issues, their shields were very effective to promote otherwise.

The 'foreigner' that had the biggest heart of all, Satoru noted, was Princess Aska of Fahren. As he observed her and her interactions with her servant Sang Yung and advisor Chang Ang, she carried an undying devotion to both her country and those she considered family. The others really didn't seem to care too much about their country at the surface, but Aska wasn't afraid to show it, so anybody with half a heart could see her open love. Children always were the purest of the pure, whether it was good or evil.

"Waah," Aska gasped at the entire tale of Hikaru's brothers first involvement with Cephiro. "That's so wonderful, Hikaru! Hey, Lantis, how did you view Hikaru's country?"

Lantis cracked a small smile, and Satoru tuned in to what he had to say. "I was met with surprises, both good and bad," he said. "I understand why Mokona gave up on Earth to create Cephiro, Fahren, Autozam, and Chizeta. The nature of the land has been conquered by the humans. That's a bad part about it."

"Hikaru says that they don't fight as much as Mokona had originally said," Aska mused.

Satoru sighed. "There has not been a single year in the history of the Earth that humans had ever been living in complete peace and unity like you are in this world. There's much that we can learn from you all."

Aska blushed a little, and Lantis continued, "Yet, there is much that Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu have taught us that came directly from Earth, and even more that I discovered on my own in Tokyo that they have never told us. The good things and the bad things from all four countries are integrated there. You have the technology, civilization, and even the pollution of Autozam there, the culture of Fahren, and the morals of Chizeta and Cephiro. If you go to the right place, you even have the nature of Cephiro."

Satoru grinned. For a man who came from a land that was considered successful to the Creator, Lantis viewed the world that the Creator saw as a failure as a breath of fresh air. To him, there was no clear distinction on which was the better dimension.

Aska widened her eyes excitedly. "I want to go there someday!" she exclaimed. "Hey, Hikaru, could you take me one day?"

Chang Ang opened his mouth, perhaps in protest, but he smiled, shook his head, and muttered something that sounded like words of approval.

Hikaru nodded. "Sure! Anytime you want to, we'll take you!"

"Sang Yung, too?"

"Of course!"

Sang Yung turned bright red. "A-Aska-sama..."

Satoru couldn't help but to chuckle lightly. He caught Lantis's eye, and Satoru turned to him with a grin on his face.

"I think I have more hope for the future of Fahren than I do either Chizeta or Autozam," he said, and Lantis only returned the smile.

* * *

Unlike what everybody else seemed to have done, Caldina was unsure as to how to think about how siblings from Earth acted. Hikaru's three older brothers obviously loved her, and the feeling was mutual. Among the brothers, however, there were altercations, especially between the two younger ones, Masaru and Kakeru. After seeing Satoru, the eldest one, only smile at their bickering, she decided that it was rather cute. They really didn't hate each other even if they tried to convince otherwise.

Caldina grew up as an only child, so she never knew what it was like to have brothers and sisters. In fact, she envied Hikaru because of this.

Caldina and Umi once had a bonding moment when they vented their frustrations about never having any other family member their age while growing up. Their parents always paid either too much attention to them or not enough, and it always contradicted what they wished. Oh, Caldina held nothing against her parents. She knew that they gave everything they had to raising her to be a good child, and Caldina hoped that she turned out just as they expected... or even better. But sometimes they, like all parents somehow managed to do, frustrated her.

That wasn't to say that Caldina and Umi never had a brother. Ever since when they first met, Caldina adopted Ascot as her younger brother, and Geo seemed to do likewise with Umi as a younger sister despite him already having an older brother himself. Last she heard, however, Geo and his older brother were not on speaking terms.

So the only conclusion Caldina came up about Earth siblings: they were no different than surrogate siblings or real siblings of Cephiro, Chizeta, or even Autozam... maybe even Fahren. The only difference was the number; most families Caldina came across only had two children, three at the most. Four seemed a bit much, but Caldina was certain that nobody in the Shidou family regretted it, especially with Hikaru as the youngest of them all.

"You look lost in thought."

Caldina looked up to her side and saw Lafarga staring at her, his face overwhelmed with concern. "You seem troubled," he continued.

"Oh, it's nothing," Caldina replied. "I was just thinking about how lucky Hikaru is, having the brothers that she has."

Lafarga nodded as he looked in said trio's direction. "I think that's the one thing on everybody's mind today. I almost wonder how Hikaru turned out the way she did with the three of them."

Caldina smiled. "That 'almost' has a lot to do with it, doesn't it? I can see how it worked out. Her brothers love her so much that they have never fought with her, and she always had Satoru, her oldest and more mature brother, to help her out in times of trouble. Masaru and Kakeru were probably very protective over her, which is why when we first met her, she seemed so naive. The three examples of the perfect brother. Hikaru is very lucky."

"I guess you're right," Lafarga answered, and all of a sudden, a wicked thought crossed Caldina's mind.

"You know, I hope _our_ kids turn out to be like those four," she said with a huge smile on her face, folding her hands behind her head. "Charming kids who parents never have to worry about... I wonder..."

From the corner of her eye, to her delight, Lafarga's face turned pink. She snickered.

"'Our' kids," he repeated, dumbfounded.

Caldina mockingly raised her eyebrows. "Oh? You don't want children? You know, what's the point of having a relationship if you can't have kids?"

Lafarga stuttered to say something coherent, and Caldina decided that the teasing was over. "I'm just joking, Lafarga!" she reassured. "Well, I do want kids, but not until you're ready!"

He still remained speechless. It was much too hilarious for Caldina, so she cracked up.

At that moment, Ascot walked into the gardens for the first time all day. Caldina put her hands on her hips and ordered for him to approach her, which he did meekly.

"Er, yeah, Caldina?" Ascot asked.

"What's this?" she asked, puzzled. "Where you were you... all day? You knew Umi was coming to Cephiro today!"

Ascot rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, well, you know, I promised the kitchen maids that I would help them out today, so I did, and..."

Caldina caught Ascot moving his other hand behind him. She also saw that he held something in that hand. "And what?" she asked, but then sighed. "Sheesh, Ascot, you knew for an entire week that today was the day that Hikaru would be bringing her brothers to Cephiro. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you wanted to avoid Umi... but I _do_ know you very well." She smirked. "You made something _special_ for Umi in the kitchen, didn't you?"

Ascot blushed. "Th-that's not it..!"

"And that, in your hand, is the thing that you made!"

"That's not it!"

"Come on, 'fess up!"

Ascot shuffled his feet and looked to the ground. "I-it's a flower. I picked it, not made it."

"A flower for Umi?" Ascot nodded. Caldina laughed. "I knew it!"

"What do you mean by that?" Ascot demanded, and Caldina smiled.

"It's something that all men in love do," she stated. She wished that she had eyes in the back of her head to see Lafarga's expression. He did that once. It was so uncharacteristic of him that Caldina found it amusing, but since she found it more sweet than hilarious, she decided once and for all that Lafarga was the man for her. "So, what are you waiting for? Go give it to her!"

Ascot took a quick glance to where Umi was, and she was still with the same group she had been with all evening. Frantically, he replied, "Not with Geo and Tatra there... and are those two strangers Hikaru's brothers?"

"Of course it is!" said Caldina. She pointed to where the others were. "And the other man over there is her oldest brother. You should get to know them. They really are some good folks."

"Er... I think I'll wait until later..." said Ascot.

To that, Caldina frowned and turned Ascot around, shoving him towards Umi. "Go _now_!"

"H-hey! Caldina! Quit that! You're stronger than me, you know!"

"Quit? Okay," said Caldina, and she let go of him after giving him a quick, strong push. Ascot didn't expect that to happen, so he fell flat on his face, gaining the attention of Umi and the others. Caldina smirked. "There's no need to be so shy," she said softly, oddly contradicting her facial expression. She turned to Lafarga. "After all, romance is useless unless you have fun with it, right?"

Lafarga smiled. "So... children like Hikaru's brothers, you say?"

And Caldina only grinned.

* * *

"Is it all right if I come in?"

"_Oh, go ahead._"

"I hope I'm not interrupting--"

"_My sleep? I've been asleep for many years now, so don't worry about it. So, you are Hikaru's... oldest brother? Satoru, is that right?_"

"Yes."

"_I can't help but to keep comparing you to Lantis._"

"Kakeru does the same thing. He says that it disturbs him because you remind him so much of my closest and dearest friend, Kyousuke."

"_Disturbing? I guess there's some connection that I don't know anything about._"

"It's probably the uncanny similarities. To me, you're a completely different person."

"_I guess so. So, why have you come?_"

"I just had a question to ask. I hate to intrude on your privacy like this, but..."

"_Oh, go ahead. I have nothing to hide. Not from you, at least._"

"Is it the Lantis aura?"

"_Perhaps._"

"Did you... or do you love my little sister?"

"_What brought that up?_"

"Well, I can't ask if she was in love with you. Many people are modest. It's wrong of me to make an assumption like that, I know, but..."

"_Yes. To both. We were in love, and so was Lantis. All three of us... Geo and Umi would say that it would have been perfect._"

"If...?"

"_Lantis deserves Hikaru more than I do. She seems happier with him, anyway. And... I can't let Hikaru wait around forever for me to wake up, and I can't let her hold on to the love. Everything fades within time, even love, and by the time I wake from this coma... who knows? Hikaru may not be interested in me that way anymore._"

"How long did it last?"

"_Probably about... six years._"

"She's probably just as much in love with you now as she was six years ago. I don't think it will be fading soon, and I'm certain that the time for you to wake will be quickly approaching."

"_It's nice to think that._"

"You don't believe it?"

"_I've given up all hope for love._"

"... why?"

"_Don't you think that by now I would have found the perfect person for me? There's exactly one person for everybody, and Hikaru and I would never work out. I don't know who else to turn to, and by now..._"

"How old are you?"

"_I think I'm about twenty-six. I lost count. Hikaru is...?_"

"Twenty-one. Twenty-six, is it? Eagle-san, forgive me, but I'm single. I'm not married, I don't even have a girlfriend. And I'm thirty years old. It's not too late. Kyousuke is the same age as me, and he has yet to give up hope for finding someone for me."

"_Perhaps you've already found your perfect match, and you just don't know it yet._"

"Maybe you have as well."

"_Maybe. ... So, why did you ask that question?_"

"I don't care how cheerful she sounded earlier. I could tell from her eyes and the words she said that something had happened to prevent the two of you from getting together. I never imagined it would be the three of you."

"_You know, polygamy is illegal on both Earth and Autozam._"

"Some parts of Earth allow polygamy, but not Japan."

"_Another reason why I broke it all off._"

"Have you ever regretted it?"

"_To tell you the truth, I felt a little regret about five minutes afterward. Umi screamed her head off at me. Geo scolded me. Those two work so well as a team that it's frightening._"

"It hurt Hikaru, didn't it?"

"_Unfortunately... yes. Umi told me that if Kakeru ever heard of it, he would, and I quote, 'rip me to shreds'._"

"That's the Kakeru Umi was speaking of."

"_He does seem rather violent._"

"You should have seen him in elementary school. Once there was a bully... Hidehiro was his name. All he did was tease Hikaru's emotional friend Rei, and Kakeru got involved somehow. He threatened to hurt Hidehiro badly, if I remember correctly. But, even so, after the ordeal was over and done with, after only one parent-teacher conference, Hikaru decided to befriend Hidehiro. She knew more about him than any of us ever knew. The funny thing is, within time, Hidehiro became one of Kakeru's best friends."

"_I see Hikaru was the same exact way she still is even when she was only a child._"

"I think she was that way practically all of her life. How much do you know about our family life?"

"_Only that Kakeru has a grudge against your father, who left your family when you were very young._"

"That's where everything actually began. Kakeru being as overprotective as he is, Masaru spoiling Hikaru rotten..."

"_And you teaching Hikaru the wisdom of the world._"

"I wouldn't say that, but I tried my best to lead Hikaru in the right direction."

"_You did a wonderful job. I don't see a failure in Hikaru; you succeeded marvelously._"

"Thank you."

"_How young were you when your father left?_"

"I... think I was about fourteen years old. I remember starting the last year of junior high school without a father, being teased for it... and yet at the same time, gaining respect because of it. Everybody, within time, knew that I was now heading our dojo, and I kept my grades fairly high despite it. I was probably fourteen, give or take a year. Hikaru was just about ready to start elementary school, and she defeated Father fair and square in kendo the day he left. It was because of that he left.

"Masaru and I tried to hide it from both her and Kakeru since Kakeru worshipped Father, and Hikaru would put all of the blame on herself, but we found we could no longer do it. So we finally told them both."

"_They took it harshly, didn't they?_"

"I can't say who took it worse. Kakeru began his campaign of never forgiving his father, and the hatred only increased as the years drew by. Hikaru, as Masaru and I expected, began to hate herself not because Father left, but because Kakeru hated him. She hated herself for creating such a rip in the family, but to be perfectly honest, if he never left, Hikaru wouldn't be the way she is now. Our relationship wouldn't be the way it is now. I hate to say this, but Father leaving the family for as long as he had was the best thing that ever happened to us."

"_Despite the hard times? Hikaru is stronger than I ever imagined._"

"I never imagined that she could become even stronger until after the second trip to Cephiro. I don't know what exactly happened, and at the time, I didn't know anything about Cephiro, but she was depressed after a field trip. That's all Masaru and Kakeru and I knew for the longest time. But she became stronger. I could feel it. And I'm never sorry for ever-increasing strength."

"_And then your father returned one day. I remember when that happened. Hikaru seemed very troubled, and I asked her about it, but she wouldn't tell me. She only trusted Umi and Fuu with the news, but soon we all discovered it. Lantis told me, but I don't know where he heard it from. Maybe from Geo who heard it from Umi? I wonder if they were even as close back then as they are now._"

"It must be very depressing to be in a coma."

"_It is. I would've been out of it by now if... well..._"

"I understand. But don't you dare give up hope. You'll awaken, and you will find love. Don't you even begin to give it all up. Hikaru wouldn't want you to do that."

"_Now you're giving off an aura of a mix between both Lantis and Geo now. Geo, no matter what, always supported me. Do you know about the invasions?_"

"I've heard about them. Nobody ever gave me the full explanation except that it's all in the past, and it's best to forget it."

"_Do you know about the Pillar?_"

"No."

"_I guess I shouldn't get too in-depth on the invasion, then. It's a long story with the invasions, but to get to the point, I decided that our country, Autozam, should invade Cephiro to gain control of the Pillar. At the time, before Hikaru abolished the Pillar system, whoever was the Pillar would be able to change Cephiro as they pleased, but there were many restrictions placed upon it. I can explain that to you sometime in the future. Anyway, Lantis was one of my closest friends at the time, changing between being second only to Geo or being first, only ahead of Geo. It depended on the situation, my mood... anyway. Geo and Lantis were close friends as well, but Geo only came along on the invasion because of me. He supported me throughout everything, until he discovered that I was about to fall into this coma. Then he tried to stop me. He's a really good friend._"

"He really seems like it. Actually, no offense or anything, but my friend Kyousuke seems more like Geo than he does you."

"_None taken. So, can I ask exactly what happened when your father returned that put Hikaru through so much stress?_"

"There were a lot of factors. Hikaru gave up kendo so that when he returned, when they dueled, she would lose, and he would stay. But she took it back up later to get into a prestigious school, and I think if it wasn't for that, she would have never come to Cephiro. Ever. But even so, she knew better than anybody since she was the only one who remembered because Mother, Masaru and I completely forgot that Kakeru held a terrible grudge against Father. That's what had her so troubled. There was something more, but I never discovered it. I don't know what it was, but Kakeru was determined to defeat Father to protect Hikaru."

"_Kakeru really cares a lot about Hikaru. He almost seems obsessed._"

"Perhaps he is, but it's because of Father he turned out to be that way."

"_How do you think you turned out?_"

"... I really don't know. Kyousuke once deemed me 'perfect', but like every other human being I have my flaws. From Father's absence, I earned the respect of my peers, teachers, and family. I don't hold this against Father, because if it wasn't for this, I'm not sure if our family would have stuck together.

" When Father left, my childhood was forevermore gone. Kyousuke is trying desperately to give it back to me by finding me a girlfriend, but... I need to tell him that it's too late."

"_Oh, Satoru, be careful what you say. I said that it was too late for me to find love. You say otherwise. It's never too late. It's not too late for you to have fun in your life, for you to become a child once again. Hikaru is twenty-one, and she still has the innocence of a five-year-old._"

"Kakeru did everything in his power to preserve that."

"_Satoru, it's never too late. It's not too late for you to regain your childhood, your innocence. It's not too late for Kakeru to forgive your father. It's never too late, not as long as it's not too late for me to find love once again._"

"I guess you're right. I'm sorry for being such a hypocrite."

"_It's the human nature. We're all allowed to be a hypocrite sometimes._"

"I sincerely do hope you awake from your coma soon. You deserve to live again. You still haven't waken up yet because you gave up hope, is that right?"

"_... yes. But thanks to you, I think I can find my true place in life again._"

"You don't need to. You already found it. It's to be with your loved ones... and to live until eternity ends. That's the same way for everybody."

"_Except you and your brothers have another reason._"

"What do you mean?"

"_You live to protect your beloved younger sister. That's why you were born. Always, by her side, you will stay, no matter what the distance is, no matter who stands in the way._"

"Always... because she really was the one who kept our hearts beating."

"_And because you and your brothers were the ones who kept her spirit alive._"

The End

- This is a pun between light and dark. "Hikaru" means "light" and "Yami" means "dark".

**"Lion Heart" Trivia**: This story was named after a SMAP song with the same name. It's a really, really pretty song, and I like it a lot. I also like SMAP--real life bishounen! squeals Anyway, remember, when you go looking for this song: "Lion Heart" by SMAP. The album name is "014" if you really need it. Listen and love. SMAP rocks.

And something else I think I'd ought to add to keep from people pointing at me with signs that say "Plagiarist!"... Kakeru being terrible with names is an idea I snatched from Firestorm244's fic, "Cross". (Oh, and the car name thing, too...) It's a really wonderful read, and I shame myself for not reviewing it yet. Someday, I swear, I will! That, and I feel that promoting fics with Hikaru's brothers with more character than just "overprotective" is a must.

_**Obligatory Disclaimer**__: If I owned Magic Knight Rayearth, well, take a wild guess what I would be doing. I would create a manga/anime focused purely on Satoru, Masaru, and Kakeru, that's what. ; CLAMP owns Magic Knight Rayearth. Worship them. And "Lion Heart" belongs to SMAP. I just borrowed the title of their song for the purposes of this fanfic. Drool over SMAP._


End file.
